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WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE 
OCEAN SEA 

a Xarratibe of i\)z jFirst Uogagc to tlje Mcstern Morlti 



DRAWN MAINLY FROM THE DIARY OF 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 



BY /■ 

CHARLES PAUL MAC KIE 



When newes were brought that Don Christopher Colonus, the 
Genoese, liad discovered the coasts of India, whereof was great talke 
in all the Court of King Henry the 7, wlio then raigned, ... all men 
with great admiration affirmed it to be a thing more divine than 
humane, to saile by the West into the Easte, where the spices growe, 
by a chart that was never before knowen. — Sebastian Cabot 




AV '^'A \\V\\ '•■ V ' 



CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 

1S91 



Copyright, 

By a. C. McClurg and Co. 

A. D. 1S91. 

All rights reserved. 



., • 



6->3 



// 



TO 



iFrtentis in tf)c SEnitel) States Wabg, 



IN RECOGNITION OF MANY KINDNESSES RECEIVED 
IN SOUTHERN SEAS. 



PREFACE, 



IN preparing this narrative we have preferred to deal only 
with the accounts left by Columbus himself and those 
directly associated with him in the enterprise which placed 
him among the true Immortals. Our effort has been, by 
following as closely as might be the language of the actual 
participants, to present a living picture of the events con- 
nected with that stupendous achievement. If in so doing 
we have lost somewhat of the dignity of graver methods, 
and departed in sundry particulars from those presentations 
of the great exploit which are deservedly famihar, our 
apology is that we have adopted the errors of the actors 
themselves. It has seemed well to the critical spirit of our 
day to question the accuracy of Columbus in more than one 
respect ; but that he and those who were his fellow-workers 
by land and sea did not faithfully relate what passed in con- 
nection with the discovery of the Indies, we have not the 
temerity to assume. Their written reports and the testi- 
mony given by many of them under oath lie before us as 
we write, and we have found no cause to doubt the exact- 
ness of their contents. That these reports are seldom ar- 
tistic, often confused, and not infrequently prolix in what 
now appear to be trivial matters, may be with propriety 
alleged ; but our object would not be attained were we to 
trim the language of the Admiral and his companions to 
suit our ideas of proportion. They planned the voyage and 



vi PREFACE. 

made it, and we are content to follow their account of what 
befell. 

The diary, letters, and other remaining writings of Co- 
lumbus picture for us with rare fidelity the man himself. As 
we turn over their leaves and read his words, — penned in 
a Latin, Spanish, or Italian whose very want of polish is its 
most palpable charm, — their author ceases to be a char- 
acter in history about the disposition of whose bones fierce 
controversies have raged, and becomes once more the earnest 
student, skilful mariner, and fearless explorer whose acts 
have freed his memory from limitations of time and place. 
We feel, as we follow his artless periods, that we are looking 
past the pen into the heart of the man, and recall with a 
new appreciation that he was the contemporary of the Great 
Captain and of Bayard the Matchless, in the days when 
great deeds were simply done and yet more simply told by 
their doers. Concerning himself, as freely as concerning 
others, he relates both good and bad alike ; his times of weak- 
ness as well as of strength, his failures as well as his success. 
When we remember that nearly all of his existing writings 
were addressed to his royal patrons of Castile, we may ad- 
mire the naked frankness with which he speaks, while we 
must regret the simplicity which trusted blindly to those who 
would so naturally regard their own interest rather than 
their servant's. 

Some of the incidents incorporated in our narrative have 
been found in the official documents bearing upon the Dis- 
covery ; others are drawn from the testimony in the law- 
suit brought against the Spanish Crown after the death of 
Columbus, by his son Diego, for the full recognition in the 
latter's person of all the dignities and emoluments origi- 
nally conferred upon his father but in later years so greatly 
abridged by King Ferdinand. \Vhatever the source, we 
have confined ourselves to the evidence of eyewitnesses, 
and have desired to be exact rather than elaborate. The 
conversations attributed to the Admiral are such as are re- 
ported, by himself or his companions, to have taken place. 
In his diary he usually entered them with sufficient fulness 



PREFACE. vii 

to permit their reconstruction ; but in those given in the 
prefatory chapters, which are merely recorded by the phy- 
sician Garcia Fernandez and others as having occurred, 
without details being given, we have put into dialogue form 
such extracts from Columbus's letters as illustrate his attitude 
toward the subjects discussed. The words placed in his 
mouth are, in this case, substantially those which his hand 
transcribed. 

No large portion of the reading public has either the 
time or the inclination to delve into the many tomes which, 
chiefly by the liberality of the Spanish Government and the 
devoted labors of Muiioz, Navarrete, and their successors, 
have been made available for the students of Columbus's life 
and works ; and yet, if we are not wholly in error, it is only 
from these original sources that any lifelike conception of 
the great discoverer's character can be formed. It is to 
this larger world of readers, who would gladly read the story 
of the renowned event of 1492 in the words of the chief 
actors, that our narrative is addressed. 

The Appendix contains a few notes upon the main points 
in dispute concerning Columbus and his career. Without 
wishing to enter into matters of controversy, it has seemed 
best to offer this small contribution toward the solution of 
the questions at issue. 

We have preferred to retain the Spanish form of the 
Admiral's name, Crist6val Colon, as being more in keep- 
ing with the spirit of our narrative than the anglicized 
Christopher Columbus. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter Page 

I. The Father Superior's Sailor Guest . . ii 

II. The Shrewd Idea of the Young Physician 20 

III. Notable Mission of the ex-Privateersman 32 

IV. The Famous Mule of Juan the Hard-headed 42 
V. Bargaining for a World 53 

VI. " I, THE King ! " and " I, the Queen ! " . . 6^ 

VII. The Heavy Hand of Juan de Penalosa . 76 

VIII. The Sea-breeze outside the Bar .... 89 

IX. In the Path of the Sun 100 

X. What the Moon Disclosed 113 

XI. Under the Banner of the Green Cross . 128 

XII. Among the Isles of Ind 140 

XIII. In Search of Far Cathay 153 

XIV. The Embassy to whom it might Concern . 166 
XV. The Evil Deed of Martin Alonzo ... 180 

XVI. Alpha and Omega 193 



X CONTENTS. 

Chapter Page 

XVII. His Unclad Majesty 207 

XVIII. A Gloomy Christmas 219 

XIX. The First Frontiersmen 233 

XX. The Return of the " Pinta " 247 

XXI. Northeast by East, for Spain and Immor- 
tality 264 

XXII. "There were no tempests in the Indies" 279 

XXIII. The Graces of Civilization 290 

XXIV. King and Commons 302 

XXV. High Noon and the Tide at Flood . . 317 

XXVI. Afterward 329 

Appendix 343 




WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE 
OCEAN SEA. 



I. 

THE FATHER SUPERIOR'S SAILOR GUEST. 

IN the little refectory of a tiny Franciscan convent, dedi- 
cated to Our Lady of the Madness, which still stands 
in the remote corner of Southern Spain where our narrative 
begins, two men sat conversing earnestly together on a cer- 
tain sunny afternoon many a long year gone by. The one, 
a monk wearing the coarse gown and cowl of the Order of 
Saint Francis, was rather over forty years of age ; the other, 
a layman clad in the ordinary dress of the period, — some- 
what the worse for wear and travel, — seemed to be ten 
years older. Against the tall back of the chair occupied by 
the older man, and listening respectfully to all that was said, 
leaned a lad of thirteen or fourteen years, whose features 
plainly proved him to be his son. A flagon of the common 
red wine of the country stood on the table before them, with 
the remains of a loaf of bread, a piece of cheese, and a 
broiled fish, — evidence that some one had been eating, al- 
though it was long past the hour for the simple midday meal 
of the worthy friars. 

The room was barren of all ornament. Its only furniture 
consisted of a dozen or more ponderous chairs and stools. 



12 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

all more or less carved and covered with embossed leather, 
which stood against the whitewashed walls, and a heavy 
table of some hard polished wood which occupied the centre 
of the smooth stone floor. Bare though it was, the exqui- 
site cleanliness of everything around gave to the room an 
attractiveness of its own, which was heightened by the con- 
trast between the fresh coolness of its shaded atmosphere 
and the quivering heat of the glaring Andalusian sun out- 
side. From where the boy was standing he could look 
through the open doorway into the little courtyard of the 
convent, where the fig-trees and pomegranates stood motion- 
less in the hot sunshine ; or, by turning his head, could see 
through the grated windows of the refectory the great waves 
of the mighty western sea lazily rolling landward, waiting to 
be whipped into dancing whitecaps later on by the brisk 
breezes of the afternoon. But as he listened to the older 
men before him, his eyes sought oftenest the plain of heav- 
ing waters ; for their talk was wholly of that vast world of 
unknown ocean whieh stretched far out of sight toward the 
setting sun, and of what might lie beyond the level mocking 
line which lay between sea and sky, and ever receded, as 
now and then some daring sailor sought to reach its limits 
and learn what was there concealed. 

" Your Worship is not of Spain, I take it, Senor," the monk 
had said, when father and son had finished their light meal ; 
" if I do not offend in asking the question? " 

" No, Father," the layman answered, " I am from Genoa ; 
a true son of Saint George, — may he ever defend me ! " 
he added, crossing himself devoutly.' " I was bom Chris- 
toforo Colombo, though here in Spain men call me Cristoval 
Colon ; an unworthy servant, ever at your orders, reverend 
sir." 

" I hold myself happy in knowing your Worship, Serior 
Cristoval," the monk replied. **The sailors of our coast 
here often speak of your famous voyages to distant seas, and 
I have heard your name as well in the gossip from the Court." 

1 For Columbus's statements concerning his birthplace, see Note A 
in the Appendix. 



THE FATHER SUPERIOR'S SAILOR GUEST I 3 

" Your own kindness exaggerates my deserts, good father," 
said Colon. " Some of the hardy seamen from the southern 
ports have sailed with me on voyages of some length, 't is 
true ; and it is but natural that they should bear in mind the 
hard knocks and scanty fare they found while on their travels." 

" Your present journey is not a long one, Senor Cristoval, 
if I may judge by your boy accompanying you ? " the monk 
again queried, with a kindly glance at the young lad standing 
against his father's chair. 

" We come now but from Seville," the latter responded ; 
" and 't is no great distance, — the more as we have walked 
at ease, good father. Please God, our journey ends at 
Huelva, your neighboring town. But as we broke our fast 
betimes this morning, and have still some hours of road be- 
fore us, we have trespassed thus upon your hospitality which 
has been so bountiful." 

" You must stay now under our poor roof, Senor, at least 
until your boy has had some rest. It will be no easy thing 
to reach Huelva this evening ; and in the morning we can 
get a boatman to put your Worship across the bay, if you 
needs must leave us. Whatever Juan Perez, the humble su- 
perior of this little cloister, can do for your comfort, worthy 
sir, you may count upon as already done." 

" I thank your Reverence warmly," Colon replied ; "and 
we will tax your kindness still further, since you are so good. 
But Diego here is no court-bred youngster who cannot travel 
on his own legs. Which were the harder life in these days 
of war on sea and land, the life of the camps or that on 
shipboard, it were not easy to say ; but I have led both since 
he was born, so the colt has learned to go with the sire. 
Moreover, his lady-mother — may God give her rest ! — came 
of the stoutest-hearted stock in Portugal, and the lad should 
be no weakling. Mayhap you know one Pedro de Muliar, a 
townsman of Huelva, reverend father? He married a sis- 
ter of my dead wife, — may God rest her soul ! — and 't is 
he I seek on this present journey." 

"Seek you him, Senor? Then I greatly fear your labor 
will be fruitless ; for only lately I heard it said he was going 



14 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

on a cruise to the Levant, with a brave company of seamen 
from our neighboring ports along shore, — Palos and Lepe and 
Huelva and Ayamonte. Still, he may not yet have sailed." 

A shade of annoyance crossed the frank brow of Colon at 
this news. 

" So much the worse for me. Father," he said. " I counted 
much on seeing him ; and God only can tell when he will be 
back now, or whether at all. Who sails the Mediterranean 
in these troublous times, be he Christian or Moor, should 
leave his testament ready made behind him. Yet will Pedro 
go in good company, for stouter men never handled rope 
than those from these shores." 

He sat some moments in silence, looking intently at the 
table. Then, turning his head upward toward his son, he 
said, — 

" Well, Diego, my son, and what shall I do with thee, 
now that thine uncle is gone ? It were too long a journey 
to take thee with me to France." 

"Yet would I gladly go, Seiior, if you will but take me," 
the boy replied eagerly. " Surely I could serve you well 
as page, and help you often in your journey." 

Colon nodded, seeming pleased with the lad's spirit. 
Then putting his hand on the leathern wallet which hung at 
his belt, and giving it a shake, he said with a touch of 
bitterness, — 

" 'T is scanty fare therein for one, my son, and I should 
ne'er see his Majesty of France were two to travel on it. 
The lad too is touched with the madness of the sea," he 
added, half sadly, as he turned again to the friar. 

" I grieve to hear you speak of leaving Spain, Sefior Cris- 
toval," the latter answered. " Surely their Highnesses our 
gracior.s sovereigns can ill spare such men as your Wor- 
ship in these times of strife and trouble." 

Colon raised himself erect in his chair, and grasped its 
carven arms nervously with his hands, as he looked straight 
at the monk out of his clear blue eyes. 

"Their Highnesses of Spain have no more faithful or 
devoted servant in their kingdoms than I, good father," he 



THE FATHER SUPERIOR'S SAILOR GUEST. 1 5 

said with emphasis, " stranger though I be. To the noble 
Queen Isabella I am beholden for great favors, and a 
kindly sympathy more valued still. May the holy saints 
ever have her Majesty in their safe keeping ! " and again 
he crossed himself. " But for six long years have I been 
suitor at their court, asking of them no grace save to take 
at my hands all the wealth of Asia, and to bring under their 
dominion and that of the holy Christian faith the lands of 
the heathen which now languish in hateful idolatry. Is not 
that a task fit for the kings of Castile and of Aragon, the 
conquerors of the Moors, think you, good father ? Nor was 
my only hope with them ; for I myself placed in the queen's 
hands the letters of three other princes, bidding me to their 
courts and proffering me the aid I sought. Yet their High- 
nesses of Spain will none of it ! The cares of the war in 
Granada ; the intrigues of the emissaries of Portugal, who 
seek to retain a monopoly of sailing distant seas and search- 
ing for new lands ; the ignorance and apathy and timidity 
of those who advise their Highnesses, — all these and a 
thousand more pitiful reasons have resulted in my suit being 
rejected, or, what is harder still to bear, being postponed 
and deferred from month to month and year to year until I 
have grown weary and hopeless. Now that their Majesties 
have pitched their camp before Granada, there is neither 
time nor disposition to hear of aught save war, and I go to 
the Court of France, whose king has said he would give me 
tlie z\aw and ruen I ne^d co f.ua the world v/nich ne= oe- 
vcnd yoa wescerr horizon." 

He gazed toward cne ocean, which heaved and sank 
beneath the afternoon sun, with a look in his eyes as though 
he clearly saw some distant headland lying low in the hazy 
west. 

" Something of this have I heard, Sefior Cristoval," said 
the friar, with an air of sympathy, " but had thought ere 
this your suit had prospered. Your Worship may not know 
that our good queen honored me for several years as her 
Highness's confessor. At the Court they called me the Fray 
Antonio of Marchena." 



1 6 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

" Say you so, Father? " Colon replied with interest ; "then 
I hold myself doubly fortunate in meeting your Reverence. 
Often has that most excellent lady her Grace of Maya 
spoken of you, and wished you at Court to further my pe- 
tition. Yet had I good friends and powerful among their 
Highness's counsellors, and their number increased each year, 
as my proposals became more and more understood. But, 
Father," and he leaned toward the monk almost with an 
air of supplication, " the years are passing, and I grow old. 
It is God's will that I should make this voyage to the west, 
to find the great continent of Asia and bring its people to 
a knowledge of the true faith. If I wait on and on, it 
may be too late, and I shall go to my grave with my task 
undone." 

The monk looked at his guest with a frank admiration. 
The stranger's eye was kindhng as if from the inspiration of 
some noble thought, and the whole expression of his face 
was that of a lofty determination to dare all in doing the 
duty he felt to be plain before him. Such a light had the 
good friar often seen, when he followed the camp of Isa- 
bella, in the faces of the knights of Santiago as they set 
spurs into their chargers and dashed, lance in rest, against 
the Moorish horsemen, with a great shout of " Saint James 
for the Holy Cross and Spain ! " 

His heart was stirred now at the sight of his guest's 
enthusiasm ; but he spoke quietly enough as he answered 
Colon, — 

" There is wisdom in the words of the son of David, that 
much waiting weareth the soul, good sir ; yet doubt I not 
It would sorely grieve our gracious sovereigns were this quest 
to be made under any banner save that of the Lions of 
Castile. I am but a layman in the arts wherein you are 
master, Seiior Cristoval ; still, I have given much thought 
and study to the writings of the ancients who held that 
there is a lost continent far out in yonder Atlantic, and 
our sailors at times have told me strange tales of distant 
lands they have spied from the shores of the Canaries and 
Azores. To me, who know so little, it seems likely enough ; 



THE FATHER SUPERIOR'S SAILOR GUEST. 1 7 

for I remember that the Canaries themselves were only- 
found in our fathers' times, though the ancients knew them 
well and called them the Fortunate Isles. Therefore glad 
would my heart be, Seiior, if my poor services could avail 
you anything. If it please your Worship, I would crave 
your warrant to bring to you my learned friend the physi- 
cian Garcia Fernandez of Palos, hard by, who, albeit young, 
has studied deeply the science of the earth and the heavens, 
and conferred much Avith the sea-faring men who frequent 
our ports. His judgment and counsel are weighty beyond 
his years, Seiior, or I should not give your Worship the 
labor of meeting him ; and we should hold it a high privi- 
lege to know more of your project." 

" It is no trial for me to meet those who use the minds 
that God has given them in trying to learn more of His 
works than what lies under their noses," Colon answered 
with vigor. " 'T is those who do not think, not those who 
differ from me, who have made my labors of none effect till 
now. Fourteen years did I pass at the Court of Portugal, 
ever pressing my plan save when I was on voyages. They 
took my charts and writings from me, saying they would 
ponder them ; but secretly they sent out the ships they had 
denied me. God drove them back on their own coasts, and 
punished their treachery ; but I could no longer tmst them. 
Two years I spent with that noble man the Duke of Me- 
dina Cell, and he would have gladly given me the ships I 
asked, but feared to affront the Crown by seeming bolder 
than his sovereigns. Six years have I spent at the Court 
of Castile, as I said but now, and all without result. In 
twenty years. Father, I have met scarcely more men than 
could be numbered twice on my fingers who have beheved 
in that western land as I believe in it. You shall judge, 
therefore, whether I count it a toil to converse with those 
who seek to share my faith." 

The monk rose as he said, " I will myself go to the vil- 
lage for my friend, Seiior. Will your Worship go with me ? 
It is but a short half-league, and the brothers will see that 
the lad gets the rest he seems to need j " and he nodded 

2 



1 8 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

smilingly toward Diego, who had seated himself on the 
arm of his father's chair and fallen fast asleep. 

" Willingly," Colon replied, " for I would gladly learn 
what I may about some of the men from this coast who 
sailed with me years and years ago." 

As they crossed the courtyard and passed through the 
portal of the convent into the space outside, they met the 
strong, steady press of the sea-breeze which had sprung up 
as the sun declined on its last quarter. The sharp swish of 
a few glittering palm-tops tossing overhead, sounded above 
the softer murmur of the light gale blowing through the 
pine-trees farther off. Away over the sea the white crests 
were riding landward, with here and there a glance of 
blinding sunbeams as some smoother wave cast back the 
nearly level rays. The sky was everywhere without a cloud, 
save that some few soft masses of rounded vapor hung on 
the sea-line directly in the path of the sun. A lovelier day 
never drew to its close even in favored Andalusia. 

As his practised eyes half closed to veil the brilliant light 
reflected from sea and sky, Colon drew his tall figure up to 
its full height, and laying one hand on the friar's arm, 
stretched out the other toward the dim outlines of the 
cloud-piles lying along the western horizon. 

" Saw you ever fairer scene than yonder ocean, Fray 
Antonio ? Yet shall you find nineteen men in every .score, 
be they seamen or men learned in the arts, who will main- 
tain that that fair ocean is filled with all the horrible mon- 
sters of hell ; and that he who sails more than a few hun- 
dred leagues from this same coast on which we stand, even 
if he escape them, shall fall into Chaos, or be burned up by 
the sun's heat, or wander forever like another accursed Jew, 
over a trackless waste of waters." 

The monk smiled kindly at his companion's enthusiasm, 
as he replied, — 

" But who better than yourself, Seiior Cristoval, knows 
the fickleness of this now so comely sea? 'Tis not on days 
like this that our mariners dread its terrors, or our scholars 
weave their legends ; but when the skies close down in 



THE FATHER SUPERIOR'S SAILOR GUEST. 1 9 

leaden gloom, and the sea is naught but yawning gulfs of 
blackest pitch. Then the stoutest heart may well fear what 
lies ahead of the narrow distance the eye can pierce." 

" True, Father," said Colon, thoughtfully ; " yet who trusts 
in God and weathers the storm, shall find ever the sun 
shining on smooth seas beyond." 

And in friendly chat the two men passed down the 
winding path which led through the pines to the little village 
of Palos below.^ 

' For the historical basis of this and the following chapter, see the 
Appendix, Notes C and D. 




TI. 

THE SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSICIAN. 

THAT evening, shortly after vespers, the lamp which 
flickered on the table in Fray Antonio's room lighted 
up a group of men whose combined worldly possessions prob- 
ably did not amount to one hundred of the dollars of our 
day ; and yet they were planning, in all simplicity, to accom- 
plish the greatest work for their fellow-men the world has 
seen since the fishermen of Galilee laid down their nets and 
followed Him they called the Nazarene. Though the good 
father was superior of the convent, and therefore chief 
among the brethren, the bareness of his room showed that 
his vows of poverty and abstemiousness were no mere 
words. A low pallet-bed, with a crucifix on the white- 
washed wall above it, a few straight-backed armchairs like 
those in the refectory below, a water-jar and basin of coarse 
earthenware, and a massive table completed the furniture of 
the apartment. At one end of the table sat Colon, with a 
parchment map of no great size spread under his hands ; and 
on either side of him, following closely all he said and bend- 
ing down to distinguish the crabbed letters in the uncertain 
light, were Fray Antonio and his friend the physician of Pa- 
los, Garcia Fernandez. The latter was much younger than 
either cf his companions, being scarcely more than thirty 
years old ; and with the graceful courtesy of Spanish breed- 
ing, he showed a marked deference in manner and speech 
toward his seniors. But when he did speak it was with a 
clearness and conviction which showed that he had reflected 



SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSICIAN. 21 

much on the subject in hand, and had sought to increase 
his knowledge from every source open to him. 

" This chart I had from my very learned friend and mas- 
ter in the geographical art, the Doctor Paolo Toscanelli of 
Florence, who sent it to me some fifteen years ago when I 
was seeking at the Court of Portugal the means with which 
to discover the lands which lie in the western ocean." 

As Colon said this, the young physician remarked that he 
spoke of the existence of those unknown lands as a cer- 
tainty, not as being merely probable or possible. 

" In drawing it, that wise and ingenious man has brought 
together all that the ancients knew of the world we live in, 
and has added to it what has been discovered in our own times 
of the coast of Guinea, and the islands which are found on 
the course thither. I myself have made some few additions 
to it, and in particular have laid down the great island of 
Cipango and the mainland of Cathay somewhat nearer to 
the shores of Europe than my learned master had done. 
You will, I fear, consider it but presumption on my part, good 
sirs, to amend the work of so great a scholar ; but all the 
computations I have made, and all the knowledge I have 
been able to gather, strengthen my belief that the confines 
of Asia which stretch farthest to the east are nearer to our 
European shores than any of our maps now show." 

Colon laid his finger on the chart at a spot distant by the 
scale some three thousand miles west of the coast of Portu- 
gal, where a large island was roughly drawn and marked 
" Cipango." About half-way to it, in the middle of what 
we now call the Atlantic Ocean, lay another uncertain out- 
line lettered " Island of the Seven Cities ; " while far to the 
south, near the equator, was a third, charted as " St. 
Borondon's Isle." The space we now know to be covered 
by North America was filled with a multitude of other isl- 
ands ; Java and the Celebes were placed nearly on the site 
of South America ; and the continent of Asia reached clear 
across the wide space where rolls the vast Pacific. There 
was no Africa south of Sierra Leone, nearly the whole of 
the map being marked as "unknown seas;" while in the 



22 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

remote North, where hardy modern voyagers have sought 
the Pole, lay the island of Thule, the Iceland of now-a- 
days. 

The monk and the physician studied intently that portion 
of the chart to which Colon had pointed. 

" If this distance be in any measure exact, Seiior Cristo- 
val, naught can be plainer than that the shortest track to 
the Golden Indies Ues in sailing west," said Fray Antonio. 
" But, with your Worship's permission, it seems to me that 
the chief danger is in your finding no land after sailing a 
thousand leagues to the west, and being unable to return to 
these shores. I have heard men who were no idle chatter- 
ers, but men of thought and sense, say that beyond the hm- 
its of the known sea the ocean slopes so toward the west 
that no ship can hope to return eastward once it has passed 
the farthest hne." 

" I treat lightly the opinion of no man who has thought 
much or seen much, good father," replied Colon. " Should 
that slope of which men speak lie really there, I could but 
sail on and on until we reached our bourn." 

" Then you hold of no weight the tale some mariners tell 
of a great zone of dead calms lying in the west, where ships 
may lie as if at anchor from century to century? " the phy- 
sician asked. " That seems to me a grievous peril, Seiior, 
though I frankly grant there may be land somewhere to the 
west of us." 

Colon settled himself back in his chair before answering. 
When he spoke it was in the tone of one who weighs care- 
fully his words in the hope of carrying conviction, — 

" Sefior Doctor, once you are satisfied the land is there, 
all else seems little. There is no navigating without its 
share of peril, and he who would make sure of dying in bed 
must not go to sea. That there is no zone of calm I do not 
afifirm, since he is but foolish who denies all he has not 
seen. Rather, it seems to me that such a zone must lie 
far to the south, where the heat is greatest ; for when I 
sailed to the Guinea coast with the Portuguese, we found 
the airs grow lighter as we journeyed toward the Southern 



SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSICIAN. 23 

Pole. And unless I err in every thought, and my life has 
been spent thus far in vain, the land I seek is to be found 
by sailing ever west on the line of these our shores, or, at the 
most, that of the Canary Islands." 

The young physician spoke eagerly as Colon finished, — 

" Your own voyaging hitherto has then confirmed your 
faith, Sehor? You have encountered naught to cause you 
to doubt?" 

" Thirty years as boy and man have I followed the sea, 
worthy sir," Colon replied ; " and wherever keel has ploughed 
in the known world of waters, there have I sailed. I say it not 
boastingly ; but, as you know, much travelling on the ocean 
inclines a thoughtful man to ponder over its many and pro- 
found secrets. From the Pillars of Hercules to the farthest 
isles of Greece I have crossed and recrossed the Mediter- 
ranean Sea times without number, and visited all its coasts, 
whether of Africa, Europe, or Asia. To the English islands 
I have sailed more than once, and years ago I went to the 
utmost verge of the western sea which the ancients called 
Ultima Thule, but the people who dwell there call the Land 
of Ice. As far as men have sailed along the western coast 
of Africa I have also been on divers voyages, and passed 
much time in the islands the Portuguese name Azores, and 
in the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries. Wherever I 
have been I have sought to learn both from sailors and from 
learned scholars ; priests and laymen, Latins and Greeks, 
Jews and Moors, — all these and many of other sects have 
I known and had conversation with. And to this day, good 
sirs, I have met none who could show one good cause why, 
by keeping a straight course to the setting sun, I should not 
reach the boundaries of Asia and the empire of the Great 
Khan. Much to the contrary, month by month and year 
by year my belief has been strengthened and increased, un- 
til now I know I but follow the way the finger of God marks 
out for me to go." 

" There is, indeed, a mariner of our village, Seiior Cris- 
toval," said the physician, with some diffidence, " one 
Pedro Velasco, who has followed the sea for many years, 



24 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

and declares that starting from the Azores some years ago 
he and his companions sailed due west for several days, and 
found the ocean ever the same in all its aspects as those it 
bears nearer home." 

"You must do me the service of procuring me speech 
with your neighbor, Seilor Garcia," said Colon, with inter- 
est, " for from such men I have learned much. When I 
was before on this coast, under the protection of my noble 
patron, his Grace of Medina Cell, in his port of Santa 
Maria, a one-eyed sailor, who from his appearance must 
have had a stormy life, told me that on a certain voyage 
when he was bound for Ireland, which is one of the Eng- 
lish isles, his ship was blown far off its course by constant 
easterly gales, until they came m sight of a western land they 
supposed to be the shores of Tartary. Being afraid to land, 
and the winds having changed, they made their way back 
again across the wide sea to these shores. Whether in fact 
they reached so far as Asia, or only lost their reckoning and 
sighted some nearer land, I cannot determine. But after- 
ward I met in Murcia a Portuguese sailor who had been on 
this same voyage, and he confirmed all the other had told 
me. I see nothing extravagant in their tale ; but they 
could find no other to believe them." 

" Others of our seafaring men have told me that return- 
ing from Guinea they have seen the dim outlines of some 
unknown land lying far in the western sky. Saw you any- 
thing of this, Senor Cristoval?" asked the younger man. 
" I trespass, perhaps, too far on your Worship's kindness in 
repeating such idle mariners' tales," he added, as if in 
apology. 

" 'T is a kindness done, not one you ask, young sir," 
Colon responded with heartiness. " These reports have I 
heard both in the Azores and in the Canary Islands, as this 
afternoon I was saying to his Reverence here ; but I never 
saw with my own eyes aught that looked like land. Some 
filmy shadows there sometimes were, to say truth ; but they 
seemed to my sight to be but distant clouds or some trick 
played by the sea-haze upon us. Clearer tokens that some- 



SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSICIAN. 2$ 

thing lay beyond our vision in that direction were to me the 
strange trees and plants which from time to time the sea has 
cast on the shores of those islands. The father of my dead 
wife — may God have her in his glory ! — was governor for 
the Crown of Portugal of the island of Porto Santo for many 
years ; and when I was there his son showed me some canes 
or reeds of the thickness of a man's thigh, which had come 
ashore in a gale, and avowed to me that he himself had 
talked with those who had found the bodies of two men cast 
up by the ocean on the isle of Flores, who had yellow faces 
and straight black hair, such as we know the people of Asia 
to have. These evidences, and others which have been 
given up by the waves, weigh more with me, Seiior, than 
the doubtful tales of lands which have been seen so near 
and never found." 

Fray Antonio had listened with close attention to all 
that passed between his friend Garcia Fernandez and the 
stranger, nodding his head now and then as if to show that 
he agreed with some remark of one or the other. Now he 
turned to Colon and said, — 

" Then you see no cause to doubt that men may have 
already crossed this western sea, Seiior Cristoval, albeit no 
record remains of their voyages?" 

" It were much to say, reverend father, that since God 
made the world or since men have sailed the sea no gale 
has driven their ships westward to shores we know not of," 
Colon answered with an air of modesty ; " yet of this we 
know naught for certain ; nor have we any sign of men 
coming eastward over those western waters, save those two 
dead bodies on the beach at Flores Island.-^ You both have 
read the ancients, worthy sirs, and will doubtless remember 
that in their writings is frequent mention of a western con- 
tinent, which they called Atlantis, but which cannot be else 

^ That Columbus was aware of the vague tales concerning involun- 
tary voyages across the Atlantic appears from various references in 
his writings. His position in regard thereto, and his possible debt to 
the Norsemen, or to later voyages in the Sea of Darkness, are alluded 
to in Note E of the Appendix. 



26 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

than that side of Asia which Hes nearest to us on that 
course." 

The father superior answered, with a glance of sly amuse- 
ment at the physician, — 

" This young student by your side, Senor Cristoval, has 
given me many a sleepless night with his disputations over 
that very point, and his attempts to establish the geography 
of Pliny and Strabo and Herodotus by the tales of our 
sailors here, or of some wandering merchant who has come 
from the far Orient." 

" Nay, Father ; you are malicious," the younger man an- 
swered, laughing as he spoke. " You too were startled by 
the prophecy in the book my kinsman Martin Alonzo 
brought from Rome." 

" 'T is true, my friend," said the friar, soberly ; " I had 
forgotten that. Know you of such a book, Senor?" he 
asked, turning to Colon. " Martin Alonzo Pinzon, our neigh- 
bor of Palos, who owns both lands and ships, and has been 
much at sea, returned not long since from a voyage to 
Rome, and brought a book which he says he had from a 
gentleman of his Holiness's own household, and which is 
of the time of King Solomon. In that book it is written : 
' Whoever shall sail by the Mediterranean Sea to the end 
of Spain, and from there toward the setting of the sun for 
fourteen hundred leagues, keeping always along a middle 
course between the north and the south, shall come to the 
land of Campa7iso, which is very fertile, and abounding in 
all good things ; and with it he shall conquer all Africa 
and Europe.' I may err in the words, but the sense is as 
I say." 

Colon leaned forward eagerly, as the monk repeated the 
paragraph. 

" I know not that book, good father, and shall be much 
your debtor if you will bring me to converse with this Senor 
Martin Alonzo," he replied. " Howbeit the distance named 
is twice too great ; for all my computations place the island 
of Cipango at only seven hundred, or at the most eight hun- 
dred, leagues from the Spanish coast ; and I doubt not the 



SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSIC I AX. 2/ 

land called Campanso shall be the port of Quimsay in Cathay, 
which our later travellers to India — Marco Polo the Vene- 
tian and the monks who went before him to the remote 
East — have placed not far beyond Cipango, as you may 
see by this chart." 

He laid his finger on the spot as he spoke, and sat mus- 
ing for a few moments. 

" Nevertheless," he continued with emphasis, " that 
prophecy is not more notable, Sefiores, than the one of 
Seneca, who wrote in the times of Nero, — ' In the later 
years of the world shall come the days when ocean shall 
loosen the bonds of the unknown, and a great country 
shall be opened up. Another mariner like him who guided 
Jason shall discover a new world, and then shall Thule cease 
to be the limits of the earth.' " 

As he recited the sonorous lines of the Latin poet. Colon's 
face lighted up again with a look of lofty purpose, which 
seemed to his companions akin to the fire of inspiration. 
Lowering his voice slightly, he continued, — 

" Almost in our own times, worthy sirs, we have this as- 
surance repeated by the English knight Sir Mandeville, who, 
following the footsteps of Maestro Marco, penetrated through 
the Holy Land and India to the farthest bounds of Asia and 
the remotest islands of the eastern seas ; for after he had gone 
from his own land of England through all of Europe and Asia 
until, according to his count, he had covered by land more 
than three fourths of all the distance around the globe of the 
earth, he returned after thirty years by a hke weary journey 
to his home. And of this long pilgrimage he has said : ' I 
tell you for a surety that if you but have good ships and men 
and prudent guidance, you may sail around all the world of 
this earth, as well on the side we inhabit as on the other, 
and return safe and sound to your own country ; and every- 
where you shall find men and countries and islands there as 
well as in our own part of the world.' Much more besides 
this does this wise and sagacious man say from the abun- 
dance of his knowledge to prove that the earth is round, and 
that he who will sail across the western ocean will find the 



28 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

distant lands he himself saw or heard of, and that by a voy- 
age but one third as long as the mighty travel he made. 
This same belief is also held by my learned master Paolo 
Toscanelli, Seiiores," continued Colon ; " for in sending me 
this present chart, he wrote to me, saying : * Nor should 
men wonder that I call the Occident the region where the 
spices grow, which commonly is named the Orient ; for 
whoever shall sail by the ocean to the west shall find those 
same countries, and those who journey by land to the east 
shall come to them likewise, for they are but one and the 
same.' " 

" Wherefore, good sirs," added Colon, after a moment's 
pause, " for all these reasons, and for an infinite many more 
taken from the writings of the ancients, both sacred and 
profane, and from the voyages of travellers by land and sea 
in these later days, and from the knowledge God has given 
me, the humblest of His servants, have I maintained for all 
these years, and ever raust maintain, that he who will but 
venture to the west shall have the lands of the heathen for 
his possession ; for He has called me to this work, in giving 
me from my earliest days a love for the knowledge of strange 
lands, and in making me learned in the secrets of the sea and 
of the stars, and in vouchsafing to me wisdom in geometry 
and arithmetic, and skill in the making of charts and globes, 
and in leading me to study the writings of the wise men 
of old in their chronicles and histories and philosophies, 
and all else that was needful for this labor ; and to this 
knowledge and experience has He added His calling 
and commandment that I should undertake this enter- 
prise, and given me the strength and heart to accomplish 
it with His aid. To Him be the glory to the latest of the 
ages. Amen." 

As Colon concluded, he made the sign of the cross, and 
remained gazing beyond the narrow circle of light into the 
gloom of the room beyond, as if he saw there the land he 
spoke of. 

Fray Antonio had sat during the greater part of his guest's 
remarks with his face half covered by his hand, leaning his 



SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSICIAN'. 29 

elbow on the arm of his chair. He now looked up and 
said, with some emotion in his voice, — 

" And all this you have laid before our gracious sovereigns, 
Sefior Cristoval? " 

" AW this and more, reverend father, — both to their 
Highnesses in person and before the council they sum- 
moned to hear my cause at Salamanca. But it was the 
same there as it had been in other years with the council 
called by the Portuguese king, — some few believed, many 
remained in doubt ; but most laughed at me as a visionary, 
and ridiculed my proposals as the dream of a madman. 
Yet feel I still the fire from God burning in my heart, and 
until I cease to breathe must I follow His bidding." 

" May it not be, worshipful sir," inquired the physician, 
with much respect, " that their Highnesses cannot now sus- 
tain the costs of so great an undertaking, seeing that their 
realms are exhausted by the wars against the Moors? " 

" That did I weigh most heedfully, Sefior," replied Colon, 
with emphasis. " I asked them for but two or three small 
ships, — such as sail along our coasts ; for these I deem the 
best for a voyage of discovery. His Grace of Medina Celi 
had such a fleet, which he gladly would have given me were 
it not for the reasons I already named." 

"Two or three small ships," repeated the younger man, 
musingly ; " that were a small venture for such a vast 
return." 

" You say right, Senor Garcia," said Colon, sitting up- 
right, with his former look of exaltation kindling in his eyes ; 
" you say right. While the fleets of the King of Portugal 
are slowly creeping from headland to headland along the 
coasts of Guinea, getting here a little gold dust and there 
a few negro slaves, their Majesties of Spain would secure the 
direct road across the western ocean to the incalculable 
wealth of Asia. How long would it take, think you, for the 
gold and pearls, the gems and spices and silks of the golden 
Indies to repair all the costs of the Moorish wars, and make 
their Highnesses the chiefest powers of Christendom ? Yet 
is this the least part of the glory which awaits them ; for 



30 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

while the ministers of the true faith taught the way of Hfe 
to the countless hordes of Asia, their Highnesses, with the 
vast treasure which would pour into their ports with every 
returning ship, would have the means to crown their pious 
work of driving the infidel Moors from Spain with the in- 
finitely more blessed one of freeing the Holy Sepulchre from 
the foul grasp of the vile dogs of Mahomet. This," con- 
tinued Colon, his rising voice echoing through the bare room, 
— " this is the grandest task ever given to Christian kings 
to accomplish ; and by doing this our noble king and queen 
would secure the high approval of Almighty God and the 
gratitude of endless generations. As for me," he added in 
a lower tone, " I have vowed to the Holy Trinity that in so 
far as lies in my power all the benefits from my discovery 
shall be dedicated to the rescue of Jerusalem from the 
Paynim." 

No one spoke for several minutes. The lamp on the 
table was sputtering fitfully as the wick drank up the last 
drops of oil, and monstrous shadows of the three men 
wavered along the walls and on the ceiling of the fast dark- 
ening apartment. 

The monk had followed every word spoken by Colon as 
though he listened to a prophet. He was the first to break 
the silence. 

" Seiior Cristoval, it grows late, and we have taxed your 
kindness unduly, I greatly fear. With your permission we 
will talk more of this to-morrow. It is barely possible that 
in your holy work even so humble an instrument as myself 
may be of some slight help. Let me show you to your 
chamber. 'T is no disloyalty, I am assured, to say that the 
poor convent of La Rabida is this night honored as though 
their Majesties themselves were sharing its lowly shelter." 

After conducting Colon to the room where his boy was 
sleeping, Fray Antonio walked to the convent wicket with 
the young physician. As they stood there alone in the 
quiet starlight, his friend said to him in a low tone, full of 
hidden meaning, — 

" Did you mark the Senor Colon said he wanted but two 



SHREWD IDEA OF THE YOUNG PHYSICIAN. 3 1 

or three small ships, good father? Bear you in mind, as 
you ponder his words, that our port of Palos is under sen- 
tence of their Majesties' Council to furnish two ships and 
their crews for any service their Majesties may appoint. 
The cost of a third might not deter them, were two already 
provided." 

"You speak shrewdly, Garcia," the monk said, clearly 
much impressed ; " mayhap the hand of God is in that 
thought. Let us keep our own counsel for the night, and 
on the morrow I will come and confer further with you. 
Sleep you well, good friend ! " 

He remained a moment, watching the young physician 
recede into the darkness ; then, stepping within the wicket, 
walked thoughtfully to his chamber.^ 

1 Note H, in the Appendix; "The Three Ships of Palos." 



III. 

THE NOTABLE MISSION OF THE 
EX-PRIVATEERSMAN. 

N' O sooner were the ser\'ices over in the httle chapel of 
the convent on the foUowmg morning, and his simple 
meal despatched, than the father superior excused himself 
from Colon, and leaving him in charge of the other breth- 
ren, betook himself to the house of his friend in the village 
of Palos. Early though the hour was, the hot sun of an 
almost tropical summer's day beat fiercely on the path he 
had to traverse, and rose in trembling air-waves from the 
low banks of the river and the red-tile roofs of the little 
town. 

The young physician was evidently awaiting the friar's 
visit with impatience ; for the latter had barely given him 
good-day and thrown himself into a chair with a sense of 
enjoyment at the freshness of the room, when the doctor 
exclaimed, — 

" Tell me, good father, what think you of our friend 
yonder, the Seiior Colon?" 

" I hope that we may help him. Friend Garcia, if so it 
please God. Her Highness our Most Catholic Queen has 
ever deigned to give much heed to such causes as I have 
felt justified in laying before her, and this benignant con- 
descension I have endeavored never to abuse. Now, it 
seems to me, were a worthy occasion for approaching her 
Majesty, and asking her renewed attention to the proposals 
of the Senor Colon, which, if they are but laid before 



MISSION OF THE EX-PRIVATEERSMAN. 33 

her as a holy enterprise for the propagation of our true 
rehgion which shall greatly redound to the glory of God and 
the credit of Castile, I am assured will receive a new con- 
sideration. Moreover, my friend, your thought of the past 
night may well be used as an argument that the costs of 
the undertaking need prove no obstacle ; that is, provided 
always you mistake not m your belief about the two ships." 
The physician hastened to convince his friend that as to 
these there could be no doubt. The villagers of Palos, 
nearly all of whom were seamen, had more than once got 
themselves into trouble with the courts of the kingdom by 
deeds of piracy and contraband. Only lately, despite fre- 
quent warnings, they had infringed the rigid navigation laws 
which strictly established for the sailors and shipmasters of 
Spain the ports which they could visit, the goods they might 
carry, and prescribed every circumstance of the voyages 
they were permitted to make. This defiant " re-incidence " 
of their former offences against the Crown, as the Spanish 
laws called it, had exhausted the patience of the Royal 
Council, before which the case had come ; and they had, 
justly or unjustly, condemned the parish of Palos to furnish 
and equip two ships at the cost of its inhabitants, and hold 
them at the pleasure of the Crown, to be sent, with the 
crews required, on whatever service might be ordered within 
the term of one year. This sentence had caused no little 
grumbling in Palos and its neighborhood, for no one could 
foretell whose ships might be selected, or on what cruise 
they might be sent ; although the worst that could happen, 
so far as the knowledge of the mariners went, was that they 
should be sent on a voyage to the Canary Islands and back. 
As time passed, however, and no further commands came 
about the vessels, the community settled down into the 
belief that it was nothing more than a threat used by the 
Council to frighten them into better behavior. Little did 
the villagers imagine, as they passed the young doctor's 
house on that hot morning, going down to their boats along- 
shore or up into the vineyards on the hills above the town, 
or only lounging lazily toward the village wine-shop for a 

3 



34 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

friendly gossip, what a plot was hatching against their wonted 
peace of mind ! 

The friar listened attentively as the physician explained 
just how the matter of the ships stood. Then he answered, 
with a smile at the thought of the clamor that would be 
raised, — 

" I knew not all the circumstances of the affair, Garcia, 
and your exposition makes it clear that the ships are in 
truth available for the voyage the Sefior Colon proposes. 
But our neighbors here of Palos will surely make resistance 
if they be consulted beforehand, and it will be best to 
secure a particular order from their Highnesses, if we can 
but obtain it. Oftentimes has my worthy brother, Fray 
Martin Sanchez, the curate of your parish, told me of the 
stubbornness of his flock. You may yourself remember, since 
it is not many years ago, how they rebelled against the 
king's command to restore the vessel they had stolen from 
their neighbors of the port of Santa Maria ? 'T was a clear 
case of piracy, since our sailors seized both ship and crew 
while peacefully engaged, as was their right, in fishing along 
the coast ; yet our people resisted the order of the Council, 
and all but revolted before they would give up the ship." 

" They are loath to part with what they once hold. Father," 
replied the doctor, anxious to speak a word for his turbulent 
townsmen, " be it had by fair means or foul. But a direct 
mandate from our sovereigns to perform a bounden duty 
cannot be avoided, and they must yield in the end. Think 
you such an order can be had? " 

" We can but try, my son ; but on this matter we must 
hear the Seiior Colon. Will you go with me to the convent? " 

As soon as the force of the midday heat was past, the two 
friends made their way back to the cloister on the hill. 
They found Colon seated in the library, poring diligently 
over a heavy tome of one of the early fathers of the Church, 
apparently deeply absorbed in its contents. 

In a few words the superior explained to him the sug- 
gestion made by the physician on the previous night, and 
the result of their conversation in the village that morning. 



MISSION OF THE EX-PRIVATEERSMAN. 35 

" Will the ships serve your purpose, worthy sir? " inquired 
the friar. '* If they will but answer, with your consent I will 
gladly lay the matter privately before her Majesty the Queen, 
in the hope that such feeble incitement as I may use may 
determine her Majesty not to permit so godly a work to 
pass into other hands." 

" The vessels in use along these coasts are such as best 
suit my needs, reverend father," Colon responded ; "since 
those of greater size and deeper draught cannot approach near 
to shallow shores or enter the mouths of many rivers. This 
much have I learned in voyaging to Africa. Moreover, I 
look not for stormy seas or great gales, since I should main- 
tain always the latitude of the Canary Islands, where soft 
breezes and moderate weather prevail. But two ships, I 
fear, are scanty provision with which to make such a voyage, 
since, should disaster overtake one, the other must return at 
once. Nevertheless," he added in a tone of decision, "if 
we can but obtain two, I shall make the voyage, putting my 
trust in the Holy Trinity, who have never yet forsaken me, 
Their servant." 

" It were long to put all this our cause on paper," said 
the friar. " If it please you, Senor Colon, I will rather but 
open the matter in a letter to her Highness the Queen, and 
crave her gracious permission to expound the subject at 
greater length to her in person." 

" I doubt not you do well. Father," Colon answered, " since 
written words, however true they be, must fall but coldly on 
her Majesty's sight in the press of anxieties forced upon 
her mind by the siege of Granada." 

" Seilor Garcia," the superior said, turning to his friend, 
" we shall need as bearer of this letter a man who is both 
stout of heart and discreet of mind. The road from here to 
the royal camp is none too safe in these days of turmoil, 
and it behooves us as well that our petition should reach her 
Majesty's hand without the knowledge of any of the Court. 
Know you a man whom we can trust? " 

The physician reflected a itv^ minutes, and then named 
two or three men of Palos and the neighboring town of 



36 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Moguer ; but some objection was made to them all. Finally 
he said, — 

" There is Sebastian Rodriguez, good father, — the pilot 
from Lepe. He is just now in our village, and I know him 
for a brave man and a prudent." 

" Is not he the brawler who seized a vessel and all its con- 
tents from one of our men of Palos, within sight of the port, 
not many years ago, my friend? " asked the priest. 

" The same, Father ; but he claims that Nieto, who owned 
the other boat and was privateering against the Moors, had 
done him a grievous wrong, and that he took his vessel away 
in a fair trial of strength. When the Council sentenced him 
to restitution, he gave up his spoils without resistance. I 
deem him to be an honest man and faithful." 

" If he took but what he believed to be his own, good 
father," interposed Colon, "in a fair and open contest, 
it should not be counted against him, think you? Such 
boldness is often a sign of a frank and open disposition 
among the men of the sea." 

" Nay, my friends," replied the friar, " I know nothing to 
his discredit ; and of a verity the ways of the sea are not as 
the ways of the cloister. If Garcia will bring the man to 
converse with us, he may prove to be the very one we need." 

The superior then explained in detail his plan, and asked 
Colon's sanction to make the attempt. He would write a 
letter to the Queen Isabella, relying on his former close re- 
lations with her Majesty as her confessor, and would ask a 
private audience to lay before her his reasons for urging her 
to consider favorably and give prompt despatch to the pro- 
posals of Colon. Knowing well the enthusiastic piety of 
the queen, he would dwell chiefly on the vast service to be 
rendered to the Christian religion by opening a direct road 
for its spread to the immense hordes of heathen Asia, and 
crowning her grand work of driving the Mohammedan 
Moors from Spain with the evangelization of all that enor- 
mous eastern continent. The pious monk also counted, in 
a more worldly manner, on removing the chief obstacle that 
had before been urged by the queen's advisers against the 



MISSION' OF THE EX-PRIVATEERSMAN. 37 

project of Colon, — that is, its cost, — by showing that two 
vessels already lay at the orders of the Crown, and it would 
be an easy measure to put them at Colon's disposal for his 
undertaking. This he felt would have especial weight with 
King Ferdinand, who was disposed to be less open to the 
influences of sentiment than the queen. The same prudent 
and eminently practical monarch, the friar imagined, would 
realize that even as a speculation it would be worth while 
staking the small sum now demanded, in the hope of se- 
curing for the Spanish treasury the fabulous wealth of the 
Indies, which from time immemorial had come overland 
through the eastern ports of the Mediterranean, and enriched 
the sovereigns who controlled these, from Solomon of old 
to the merchant princes of Venice in the days of which we 
write. But as the good father was familiar with the mani- 
fold intrigues and jealousies of the Court, and shrewdly sus- 
pected that much of the opposition encountered by Colon 
had come from the latter's direct and straightforward 
methods and impatience of fawning and hypocrisy, he deter- 
mined to deal himself with the queen alone, giving to the 
bearer of his letter a note to her Majesty's present con- 
fessor, the Bishop Fernando de Talavera, merely requesting 
the latter to see that Fray Antonio's letter should reach the 
queen's hands promptly, as it related to important interests 
of the Crown. 

" In the mean time, honored sir," concluded the worthy 
superior, " our poor retreat of La Rabida will consider itself 
indeed fortunate if you will use its roof for your shelter until 
we hear the pleasure of our Lady Queen." 

"That will T, and gladly. Father," Colon replied with 
heartiness. " Were it not that I feel this call so strong upon 
me, I would myself long before this have worn the habit of 
Saint Francis." ^ 

"We can all serve God in our own fashion, good sir," 
answered the monk, with kindness. " So that we keep our 
hearts steadfast and our hands clean, and do the duty that 

^ In his latter years Columbus wore the habit of a lay brother of 
this Order. 



38 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

lies before us, it matters little whether we wear gown or 
doublet. For my part, I should rather be the meanest of 
your sailors on this voyage you wish to make, than be the 
Superior of La Rabida. But each must do the work that 
is nearest his hand." 

When the little conclave separated in the evening, it was 
settled that the physician should seek out Sebastian Rodriguez 
and bring him up to the convent, without telling him of 
the particular service wanted. Meanwhile the superior was 
to prepare his letters to the queen and her confessor. 

The next day the doctor appeared with the pilot of Lepe. 
As the latter came before Colon and Fray Antonio in the 
latter's room, he showed a strong, well-knit frame of the 
middle height, a face and neck burned to a deep reddish- 
brown by years of scorching sun, and a frank but deter- 
mined cast of features. Holding his woollen sailor's cap in 
his gnarled hands, he made a clumsy bow, and said, with- 
out any sign of embarrassment, — 

'* A poor servant of your Worships, Seiiores, at your 
orders." 

" Sebastian, my son," said the superior, adopting the 
priestly mode of address, " I want some one to do a piece 
of work for me which is not easy, and must be done by one 
who is both deaf and dumb. Wilt thou do it for me? " 

"Why not, your Reverence," answered the sailor, " if it 
pass not my powers? " 

" 'Tis on land, not on the sea. Son Sebastian," continued 
the friar ; " and it may take thee many a league from 
home." 

"So much the worse for me, then, reverend father," the 
sailor replied ; " for I am but half a man on dry land. 
Still, I will not go back on my given word." 

" Look you, Sebastian ! " the monk said, taking up a 
small packet from the table ; " here is a letter for his 
Grace the Bishop of Avila, which thou art to give into his 
own hands. He is now at the camp of their Highnesses, 
before the city of Granada. Thou wilt have no trouble in 
finding his Grace, for thou hast but to go toward the royal 



MISSION- OF THE EX-PRIVATEERSMAX. 39 

pavilions on reaching camp, and any one will tell thee where 
to find him. I have marked the packet ' On their Majes- 
ties' Service ; ' and if any hinder thee on thy way, thou hast 
but to show it and say thou bearest a message to Court, to 
gain free passage. Make thy journey as quickly as may be, 
and hasten back with the reply that shall be given thee. 
Thou shalt have both thanks and reward. But above all, 
let not the parcel leave thy hands except for those of his 
Grace the Bishop. Here is money for thy needs." And 
the superior handed him some silver coins. 

" Have no fear, your Reverence," the pilot said cheer- 
fully ; " the writing shall reach its haven if my legs but hold 
out. I ask your blessing, holy father." He bent his head 
as the superior bestowed it upon him, and then departed 
with a hearty farewell to all present. -^ 

The little group remaining thought it would take three 
weeks for him to go to Granada and return with a reply, 
allowing him a week each way and a week for detention at 
Court. The way was not so very long, but led over the 
mountains, and was rugged throughout ; besides, it lay 
mostly through the territory from which the Moors had 
been expelled only the previous year ; and in the confusion 
and disorder of military occupation it might well be that a 
single messenger should meet with delay. 

During the days of waiting which followed, Colon was 
the least impatient of all the trio. He spent most of his 
time in the library of the convent and in conversing with 
the superior, though now and again he would join his son 
Diego in the garden, where the latter took great delight in 
working with the younger monks. The superior himself 
made no secret of the anxiety with which he attended 
the queen's reply ; while the young physician was back- 
ward and forward between the convent and the village two 
or three times each day. They all agreed that it was best 
for Colon not to go much to the village at present, lest 
some suspicion of his real purpose should be aroused ; for 
although in so small a place the presence at the convent 
of a stranger of his distinguished bearing could not fail to 



40 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

excite some remark, it was no uncommon thing in those days 
for men of active hfe to seek for a period of rest in some 
religious house, and so no especial meaning need attach to 
Colon's sojourn with the superior. He also deferred for the 
present his desire to meet Martin Alonzo Pinzon and 
converse with him about his voyages, and also his search for 
the old companions of his own earlier cruises. Three 
or four sailors from the surrounding district did, indeed, 
climb the convent hill to seek him out, either because they 
had sailed with him in bygone years, or had heard of him 
as a famous captain when on their own voyages ; but to all 
such, beyond a warm welcome and an assurance of his 
gratitude for their offers of service, Colon only said that at 
present he was " in port for repairs," and could not yet say 
when he would command a ship again. It was no new 
thing for him to have to wait ; and he had in every fibre of 
his strong heart the deep-laid conviction that all would be 
well " in God's own time," as he was accustomed to say. 

Only two weeks had passed of the time allowed Sebastian 
Rodriguez to make his journey, when one morning that 
doughty mariner presented himself at the convent gate, ac- 
companied by the faithful Garcia Fernandez. On hearing 
of their presence the superior hastened to meet them, with 
a great fear in his heart lest some disaster had overtaken 
his messenger and prevented his reaching Granada. One 
look at the joyful face of the physician, however, was enough 
to dispel all doubts. The pilot had made the journey, and 
returned with the queen's reply. 

Sending them both to his room, the friar hastened to 
summon Colon before hearing Sebastian's report. When 
they were all together, the worthy mariner carefully drew a 
packet from the inner depths of his jerkin and handed it to 
the superior. The latter hurriedly broke its seals and ran 
his eye over it ; then giving it to Colon, exclaimed, — 

" Now, glory be to God, Senor Cristoval ! Our gracious 
queen has ever the same noble heart." 

Checking his enthusiasm at the sight of the pilot stand- 
ing motionless before them, he added, — 



MISSION OF THE EX-PRIVATEERSMAN. 4 1 

" My son, thou must have refreshment. If thou wilt go 
to the refectory, the brothers will gladly serve thee, and in a 
little while we will hear the account of thy travels. Such 
reward as it is in our power to give thou shalt surely have." 

" Whenever your Reverence pleases," Sebastian replied. 
" 'T was not so hard to do as I thought." And with a look 
of satisfaction he turned to leave the room. 

" Thou hast sailed a straighter course than thou knewest, 
comrade, good pilot though thou art," said Colon to him, 
heartily; "and I for one owe thee many thanks." 

" Nay, your Worship," said the sailor, evidently flattered ; 
" 't was but a ship-boy's cruise, — a fair wind and a smooth 
sea." 

"Yon goes a man after my own heart," said Colon, as 
the pilot stepped into the courtyard. 

Then spreading the queen's letter before him, he studied 
it intently. 




IV. 



THE FAMOUS MULE OF JUAN THE HARD- 
HEADED. 

THE letter of Queen Isabella thanked the father supe- 
rior cordially for the loyal and pious motives which 
had led him to address her, and directed him as soon as he 
received her Majesty's present reply to come to the royal 
camp before Granada and present himself before her. He 
was likewise commissioned to say to Colon, on the queen's 
behalf, that he should now be of good heart, and look for- 
ward with confidence to the speedy realization of all his 
hopes. 

" Her Highness is indeed gracious," said Colon, as he 
returned the letter to the friar ; " but I will recompense to 
the Crown a thousand fold whatever they advance for my 
voyage." 

At the first renewed sign of promise all the bitterness 
and disappointment of those long twenty years of waiting 
had vanished. To the ardent imagination of Colon all 
difficulties had been overcome, the voyage successfully ac- 
complished, and the treasures pf the Indies were flowing 
into the coffers of the Spanish monarchs. Sanguineness is 
usuallv counted as a fault ; but had this man been less san- 
guine he would never have done the work he did. 

" Her Majesty's commands admit of no delay, my 
friends," the superior said, the monkish spirit of prompt 
obedience asserting itself. " I must start at once for the 



THE MULE OF JUAN THE HARD-HEADED. 43 

Court, unless, indeed, the Senor Colon should have a reason 
why I should wait upon him? " 

" Far be it from me to hold you for a single hour, Father," 
returned Colon, hastily. " If you will but continue the 
kindness to which I am already so much beholden, I will 
await your return, or such message as you shall send me, 
here among the godly brethren of La Rabida." 

"The advantage will be ours, Sefior," replied the friar. 
" But, Gossip Garcia, between us we must find some beast to 
carry me on the way ; for it will be neither prudent nor be- 
coming for me to make the journey to her Majesty on foot. 
And our little monastery is not yet so rich that it can main- 
tain a stable," he added, with a comical look of despair. 

" By no means. Father," the physician answered ; " the 
journey must be made with all possible haste. Though," 
and he looked puzzled in turn, " it is not easy to find among 
our neighbors here a beast fit for travelling, — unless, in truth, 
we ask the Pinzons, and for many reasons I would not do 
that could we avoid it." 

"You are very right, Garcia," said the superior; "until 
we know the wishes of her Majesty the Queen we must 
avoid anything which might allow a knowledge of this pro- 
ject to get abroad." 

" It may be that herein lies a way out of the dilemma, 
Father," suggested Colon. "Among the old sailors who 
have sought me out since I have been housed under your 
kind roof was one Juan Rodriguez Cabezudo, who many 
years ago made several voyages with me. Hard-headed is 
Juan Rodriguez in name, and hard-headed is he by nature ; 
but his heart is sound to the inmost core. In his offers of 
service, he particularly told me he had an excellent mule, 
which he much lauded as a good traveller. I bear it well 
in mind," and Colon laughed, " because it seemed to me 
that the old sea- wolf was anxious I should know that now 
he was a man of estate ; and I duly wished him well of his 
good fortune. I doubt not the worthy man will spare the 
mule if he knows it is a service done to me." 

" I know the good man well, SeRor Cristoval," the physi- 



44 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

cian said. " He has a little vineyard between Palos and 
Moguer, and lives now quietly at his ease ; though men do 
say his life in other times was stormy enough." 

" With his past life we have naught to do, Friend Garcia," 
objected the friar, impatiently, " so he but have a good trav- 
elling beast and let us have its use. Think you we can 
compass this, Sehor Cristoval?" 

Here the young physician interposed, and said that if 
Colon would go with him to his own house in Palos, he 
would send for Juan Rodriguez, and they could converse 
there without risk of exciting attention, and without giving 
Colon the needless fatigue of the long walk to Moguer and 
back. To this Colon assented willingly, and a messenger 
was sent to the old sailor to go to the physician's house as 
soon as he could. Then the trio sought out Sebastian the 
pilot, and heard his report of the adventures which had be- 
fallen him on his journey to Granada, and of the wonderful 
sights he had seen in the royal camp ; where, according 
to his belief, the vast hosts of the Spanish sovereigns were 
going to sweep the Moors clean out of Granada and drown 
them all — king, knights, and rabble ; men, women, and 
children — in the deepest waters of the blue Mediterranean, 
Having dismissed the honest mariner with many hearty 
thanks and the promised reward, the three associates dis- 
cussed in detail the representations to be made by Fray An- 
tonio to the queen. Colon gave him the fullest liberty to 
speak for himself before her Majesty. 

" Such arguments as are familiar to my mind I have al- 
ready worn threadbare before their Highnesses and their 
counsellors, reverend father," he said with sadness. " My 
main hope now is that her Majesty will hearken to your 
pious exhortations as to the duty of their Catholic High- 
nesses, as the especial champions of the Church against all 
infidels and heathen, to exert themselves to carry the truths 
of our blessed religion into those distant lands which I be- 
lieve shall be found beyond the sea. Should you wish to con- 
sult with me, or should her Majesty desire my presence, I will 
hasten to the Court without the loss of a single moment." 



THE MULE OF JUAN THE HARD-HEADED. 45 

The superior informed himself minutely of how this and 
that dignitary of the Court had stood with reference to Colon 
and his project. The latter stated clearly and concisely the 
position of the chief personages about the sovereigns re- 
garding himself, and, in especial, impressed upon the supe- 
rior that Alonzo de Quintanilla and Luis de Santangel, 
financial officers of the crown, and Fray Diego de Deza, tu- 
tor to the young Prince Juan, had shown themselves repeat- 
edly to be his sincere friends and supporters ; but that he 
had never felt that the Bishop Talavera, a prelate whom the 
worthy superior held in the highest esteem, was friendly to 
him or his cause. 

" Nay, then, Serior Cristoval," the friar urged, " have no 
fear on that score. I shall talk with no one, be he your 
friend or not, about this matter, save with the Queen Isa- 
bella alone. I did but wish to be advised, so that were her 
Majesty to show any new scruple about the enterprise, I 
might discover whence it took its source and overthrow it. 
The Holy Book commends to us the wisdom of the serpent 
as well as the gentleness of the dove, my son. But under 
her Majesty's express injunction that you should hold high 
your hope, Senor, I have but little fear of a new repulse." 

When the noontide heat was past. Colon and the physi- 
cian walked down to the latter's house in the village to await 
the reply of Juan Rodriguez. They had not been long seated, 
when that worthy himself appeared, clattering into the little 
courtyard of the modest house upon the very animal they 
were in quest of. Dismounting with the air of a man who 
had been accustomed to ride all his life, he entered the 
open door of the room where the others were sitting, and 
saluted them with profound gravity. 

Short of stature and dumpy of build, his weather-beaten 
and wrinkled face might have passed as that of a hard- 
working farmer, had not a certain habit of spreading his 
stumpy legs and a most preposterously loud voice stamped 
Juan as a man who knew more of ropes than of grape-vines. 
A head as round as any orange was set close on his shoul- 
ders by a thick and muscular neck, and covered with closely 



46 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

curling locks of wiry hair, which with the short, stubby 
beard surrounding his face, was liberally sprinkled with gray. 
It was not necessary for the good man to open his mouth 
for one to know why he was surnamed Cabezudo, or hard- 
headed. His whole appearance justified the title. 

" Your servant, Master Cristoval, and yours, Seiior Doctor," 
he rumbled out. " They told me your Worships wanted to 
see me, and here I am at your orders. Is it a cruise. Mas- 
ter?" he asked, turning toward Colon. 

" Not so, Juan Rodriguez," the latter answered ; " but I 
want thee to make me thy debtor by lending me thy mule 
for a little, since thou wert so good as to make the offer 
to me." 

" There is no better mule between here and Seville than 
mine. Master," the other replied, with a glance of pride out 
into the courtyard. "She has a trot as easy as a cradle." 

" Then thou wilt lend me thy beast. Friend Juan? " Colon 
asked. 

" Master, the beast is a good beast, and I would not have 
harm come to her." 

" I will be thy warranty, Juan, against any harm befalling 
thy mule." 

" Your Worship is somewhat over-tall for the litde brute, — 
to make so bold, Master Cristoval," Juan said in a doubtful 
tone. 

" 'T is not I who will ride the mule, thou old fault-finder ! " 
Colon said with a laugh. "'Tis my honored friend the 
pious guardian of the convent up yonder, and his Reverence 
is less my size than thine. But I have his journey greatly 
at heart, Juan, for much will it advantage me ; and I offered 
to find him a beast to ride, counting upon thy goodness. 
'T is no great distance he travels, and the mule shall be 
cared for as though she were my own." 

" They say at sea, Master, that 't is better to carry the 
crucifix aboard ship and leave i\\Q padre on shore," the old 
fellow said doubtfully. " I know not whether it be the 
same with the lading of a mule or not." 

" Now leave thy profane railings for the tavern, Juan 



THE MULE OF JUAN THE HARD-HEADED. 47 

Rodriguez," Colon answered sharply. "Thou shouldst re- 
member I like not to hear Holy Church reviled. If thou 
wilt not let me have the mule, say so straightly, like the 
plain sailor thou art, — or used to be ; but if thou wilt, be 
not so tedious about doing thy kindness, for it but lessens 
the thanks I shall have to give." 

" Your Worship knows that I honor the Church, and am 
a humble votary of Our Lady of Montserrate," Juan said, 
with an attempt at looking pious ; " but it is no sin to know 
a good beast when you see it, and care for it as it deserves, 
]\Iaster." 

" Thou hast been so much with thy mule, Juan," Colon 
answered in despair, " that thou art growing like her. Wilt 
thou let me have thy beast or not? " 

" Surely, Master Cristoval, all I have is at your Worship's 
service, and proud will I be to wait upon you in anything 
you may wish. Yet that little mule is like a child to me ; 
were aught to befall it, I would not know where to get 
another." 

"Then thou canst not lend me the mule, colleague?" 
Colon said. 

" Nay, Master, I said not so." 

"Then thou wilt lend her to me. Friend Juan? " 

" Why, and it please you. Master, 't was what I plainly 
meant to say, only I have not the trick of easy speech. It 
would ill become me to refuse your Worship any service I 
can do." 

"There spoke the man I used to know," Colon replied 
heartily. " I told his Reverence thou wouldst serve us in 
this, and that thy head was harder than thy heart. Thou 
hast my thanks, Juan Rodriguez, and I will ansv ix that the 
little beast is treated as thou wouldst have her." 

Having given, with many protestations of respect and 
excuses for his boldness, a great variety of cautions and 
suggestions as to the care and management of his precious 
mule, the old sailor trudged away. He was well satisfied 
with having served "the Commander;" but now and again 
a twinge of regret shot through his mind as he thought that 



48 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAX SEA. 

for some time he must forego the proud pleasure of riding 
through the neighborhood ''like a somebody," as he said to 
himself in the Spanish phrase. 

Colon and Garcia Fernandez returned to the convent, 
whither the mule was shortly afterward brought by a neigh- 
bor of the physician. In order to avoid observation, the 
superior had determined to make his start after nightfall ; 
this plan having the additional advantage of enabling him to 
escape the burning heat of the summer sun in crossing the 
plains which lie between Palos and the mountains. All was 
soon ready for his departure. The affairs of the convent, in 
his absence, had been intrusted to the brother next in rank, 
and Colon and his son were commended to the hospitable 
care of the little community. At the evening service in the 
chapel the superior himself had officiated, his two friends 
devoutly taking part in the exercises, and Colon in particular 
committing this enterprise of the friar's, which was of so 
great moment to himself, to that Divine Providence whose 
aid he continued to invoke until the last moment of his 
life. Then, the evening being well advanced, with many 
hearty farewells and prayers for his success, the father 
superior mounted the mule of Ji^ian Rodriguez, and started 
on his journey in the bright starlight of the southern night. 

We may be sure that he made his way as rapidly as was 
practicable over the broad plains and rugged mountains 
which lay between him and the last stronghold of the Moors 
in Spain ; though of the incidents of his journey we have no 
record. Arriving at the royal headquarters, which were 
then established at that town of Santa F^ which the sover- 
eigns had built close to the walls of Granada as a token that 
they meant not to turn their backs on the city until the 
Cross had supplanted the Crescent, Fray Antonio caused 
his arrival to be announced to the queen without loss of 
time. 

He was soon summoned to her Majesty's presence, and 
greeted as a tnisted friend and faithful counsellor. In as 
few words as possible he described the reason of his per- 
sonal appeal to the queen in behalf of Colon ; the deep 



THE MULE OF JUAN THE HARD-HEADED. 49 

impression made upon him by the latter ; the vast field for 
the spread of the Catholic religion which would be opened 
up were the kingdoms of Asia in reality to be reached by 
a short cut across the western ocean ; and, finally, the in- 
significance of the cost and preparations involved if the two 
vessels available at Palos were pressed into this service. 
For the present he purposely refrained from dwelling on the 
more material side of the project. He had gained an in- 
timate knowledge of the characters both of the king and 
queen, when the latter's confessor, and knew that while 
Isabella was most easily to be persuaded to any undertaking 
by considerations of religion, her royal husband had ever an 
eye to the main chance, and would be more likely to give 
his approval to the once rejected proposal by the induce- 
ment of cargoes of gold and silks and spices and new 
dominions, which would raise Spain to a higher rank among 
the powers of Europe. As he had intimated to Colon, the 
prudent monk accordingly reserved these arguments to meet 
the objections he was sure would be made by King Ferdi- 
nand to any revival of Colon's scheme at that time. 

The queen herself listened with evident interest to all 
Fray Antonio said. She did not attempt to disguise her 
sympathy for Colon and his aims, or her belief in their 
practicability. But she showed the monk, in a few frank 
sentences, how almost impossible it had been for her to 
undertake an enterprise of the magnitude of that which 
Colon proposed, at a time when her own realm was en- 
gaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Moorish kings, 
when her treasures were exhausted, and when, with few 
exceptions, all her most trusted advisers, including King 
Ferdinand himself, had opposed the project as doubtful both 
of execution and advantage. 

" You should remember, reverend sir," the queen had 
said, " that for fifty years our neighbors of Portugal have 
been making voyages of discovery along the African coast 
in search of a path to Asia, and therein have spent a vast 
treasure and lost great numbers of their stoutest seamen, 
with no return in any wise proportioned to these sacrifices. 

4 



50 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

With such an experience so near our borders, it is not cause 
for wonderment that our Council should shrink from embark- 
ing in so perilous a venture at a season when every man and 
every maravedi are so sorely needed here at home." 

Now, however, the queen continued, since Providence had 
so blessed the Spanish arms that the war was almost ended, 
and it was only a question of time when Granada, the last 
refuge of the Saracens, must yield, the queen was anxious 
to advance the plans of Colon, if it should be in any way 
feasible ; and most particularly did she wish to dissuade him 
from making any application to the other sovereigns of 
Europe. All this Fray Antonio was to communicate to 
Colon, and to add a renewed message of hope, and the 
queen's pledge that as soon as the affairs of the siege 
permitted, his proposals should have immediate attention. 
Meantime the superior himself was to remain at the Court, 
where he could be consulted by their Majesties as they 
might find leisure to treat of the affair. 

The good father took the first opportunity to inform 
Colon by letter of the friendly disposition shown by her 
Majesty, and the encouragement she held out to him of a 
speedy solution of his anxieties. The receipt of this news 
filled Colon with a quiet confidence and assurance of suc- 
cess to which his mind had long been a stranger ; while the 
more excitable physician could hardly contain his impatience 
from day to day, so eager was he for further word from 
Fray Antonio. It came, not long afterward, in a letter to 
Garcia Fernandez himself, saying that the queen had sent a 
summons to Diego Prieto, the alcalde mayor, or chief officer, 
of the village of Palos, ordering him to appear without delay 
at the Court, on the service of the Crown. The superior 
explained to Garcia Fernandez in his letter that the object 
of this summons was to inquire into the convenience of 
fitting out an expedition for Colon from that port ; but that 
no hint had been, or would be given as yet of its destina- 
tion, it being spoken of only as " a voyage to be made in 
their Majesties' interests." 

This piece of news proved too much even for Colon's 



THE MULE OF JUAN THE HARD-HEADED. 5 I 

disciplined self-control. The convent library lost its restful 
charms, and he found himself wondering why he had not 
been sent for by the queen, and picturing the intrigues and 
obstacles which would be invented by the opponents of his 
scheme to hinder its realization as soon as they should know 
that it had been revived and received with favor by Queen 
Isabella. Fortunately this anxiety was not to be of long 
duration ; for within a fortnight Diego Prieto, the alcalde, 
himself returned from Granada, bringing with him another 
letter from Fray Antonio to his friend the physician, and, 
what interested the little community a great deal more, 
word that their Majesties had raked up that old sentence 
of the Council, and were likely at any day to demand the 
two ships and their crews, and send them off on a voyage 
somewhere. 

But to all the clamorous inquiries of his fellow -townsmen as 
to the destination of the cruise, and the details about it, the 
worthy magistrate would only answer, with a plentiful show 
of temper, — 

" Now ask that of Our Lady in your prayers, good people, 
for I know not. Since when did our gracious sovereigns 
whisper to me the secrets of the kingdom ? For all I know, 
ye idiots, the ships are to seek the Isles of the Blessed that 
our sailors tell their idle tales about." 

Within the harmless-looking packet which Fray Antonio 
had asked the alcalde to take with him " by very special 
favor " to his good friend the physician Garcia, was con- 
tained the explanation of the whole matter. Therein lay 
a letter to Colon, calling him, on the queen's invitation, 
to the Court without delay, and enclosing no less a sum 
than twenty thousand maravedies in golden florins of Ara- 
gon, to provide for the purchase of a mule for his journey 
and a wardrobe suitable for his appearance at Court. All 
this was sent under cover to the young physician, so that the 
recent inquiries about the ships should not be coupled with 
Colon's name in advance of the completion of the queen's 
intentions. 

Where Colon found this second mule our documents do 



52 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

not show ; ' but with a heavy purse and a light heart we may 
rest assured he did not waste as many words over it as over 
the first one. That his preparations were soon made we do 
know, and also that, leaving the lad Diego in the kind keep- 
ing of the brothers of La Rabida, and asking the young 
physician to see to the boy's welfare also, he bade farewell 
to son and friend, and set out for the Court of their Most 
Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of 
Castile. 

1 Some of the more critical historians of late have derided the tes- 
timony of Juan Rodriguez Cabezudo, which was given twenty years 
after the incident here recorded, on the ground that it was absurd to 
suppose that he would remember the loan of his mule after so great 
a lapse of time. They overlook the fact that a good mule was worth 
from eight thousand to ten thousand maravedies in those days, and 
the owner of one was a marked man in a rural community. The evi- 
dence concerning the visit of Colon to La Rabida is directly as we 
have related it, notwithstanding the version given by Prescott and 
Irving in their brilliant volumes. Those who care to judge for them- 
selves may find the details of the testimony in the Appendix. 



V. 

BARGAINING FOR A WORLD. 

IN the vivid pages of Prescott and Irving and Lockhart 
we have a series of pictures, as clear as those of the 
camera, of that camp before the Moorish capital where 
Colon now arrived. Eighty thousand mail-clad Christian 
soldiers surrounded, as by a girth of iron, the " infidel " de- 
fenders, who, do what they might, could neither break the 
blockade and escape from their city, nor open it long enough 
to receive the help they so much needed from without. In 
those days of helmet and breastplate, of cross-bow and 
lance, when nearly all the fighting was still hand to hand, 
and the bonds of discipline were so much looser than now, 
an army like that of the Spanish monarchs would make a 
greater impression on the beholder than one of half a million 
men to-day. Add to this the vast array of camp-followers, 
servants and hangers-on which the military methods of the 
age allowed, and the large civil and ecclesiastical element 
present in attendance on the royal Court, and we can well 
believe that the plain of Granada bore a stirring appearance 
as Colon entered it on that autumn day, four hundred years 
ago. 

Since their city of Santa Fe had progressed far enough to 
afford them shelter, their Majesties had abandoned the more 
exposed life of the camp pavilions for the greater security 
of walls of stone and roofs of tile ; and over their new pal- 
ace now floated the standards of Aragon and Castile. To 
the king and queen tliis siege meant all the word implied. 



54 IVITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA 

It was indeed a "sitting down" before the Moorish walls; 
and there they plainly intended to remain until the pressure 
of famine or a realizing sense of the uselessness of further 
resistance should induce their stubborn adversary, Boab- 
dil the Unlucky, to open his gates, own himself beaten, and 
give up Granada, and with it the dominion of his race in 
Spain. 

Colon sought out the lodgings of his friend the superior, 
and was soon in possession of all that had passed between 
that good ally and the queen. Fray Antonio also related to 
him all that he had been able to gather as to the disposi- 
tion of her Majesty's advisers toward the project, and told 
Colon with emphasis that he need have no fear that any 
opposition would now divert the queen from her determina- 
tion to grant him the means he required. But, knowing 
the impetuous nature of the man he addressed, the friar 
warned Colon that he should bear in mind the excessive de- 
mands now made upon their Majesties' attention, and not 
yield to a feeling of impatience if delays were still encoun- 
tered. Those who were in a position to be best informed 
were of the opinion that the war was nearing its close ; that 
it was only a matter of a few weeks when the city must sur- 
render, and the Moors be banished once and forever from 
the kingdom. This done, the queen would be free to carry 
into execution the proposal of Colon, and, the friar asserted, 
would assuredly do so. Meantime her prompt and generous 
response to the representations made by Fray Antonio and 
her summons of Colon to the Court were sufficient evidence 
of the sincerity of her purpose toward him. 

To all of these suggestions Colon yielded a ready ac- 
quiescence. Now that he had positive assurances of her 
Majesty's intention to forward his undertaking, it was far 
more easy to wait than it had been in former years, when he 
was in doubt as to whether she would, after all his patience, 
give him the aid he solicited, or dismiss his whole scheme 
as impracticable. With a heart made lighter and his reso- 
lution still further confirmed by the encouraging words of 
his friend. Colon caused his arrival to be announced to 



BARGAhVING FOR A WORLD. 55 

the queen, and awaited in some impatience her Majesty's 
orders. 

These were not long delayed. Queen Isabella com- 
manded that he should be ushered at once into her pres- 
ence. So kindly and courteous was the reception given 
him, that Colon never to his dying day recalled it without a 
declaration of his gratitude. Frankly and earnestly her 
Majesty set before him, as she had already done with Fray 
Antonio, the difficulties and embarrassments which at the 
moment surrounded her. Let these once but lessen some- 
what, the queen said, and her attention should be devoted 
to the project which Colon had so much at heart. Mean- 
while it was her desire that he remain attached to the Court, 
and as opportunity could be found she and the king would 
discuss with Colon the details of his enterprise. With these 
and many assurances of her confidence and sympathy, her 
Majesty dismissed him for the time being, commending him 
to her officers as one entitled to particular consideration 
and regard. 

In the weeks which followed Colon for the first time fully 
felt the grateful sensation which was supposed in olden times 
to attend those fortunate beings who enjoyed their sover- 
eign's favor. Royalty had set the seal of its approval upon 
his " pretension," and the suppliant of last year was the suc- 
cessful suitor of this. To the sincere welcome of the few 
who had ever been his steadfast friends Colon now saw 
added the flattery of many who, without knowing or caring 
anything about his plans, recognized only that he had the 
queen's confidence, and smiled on him accordingly. But 
with him such approaches were thrown away ; for he re- 
membered how for year after year the very same individuals 
had ignored his earnest arguments or scoffed at his urgent 
pleadings, and he valued their present protestations of 
friendship at exactly what they were worth, — nothing. 

Cheered and encouraged by the certainty of his near suc- 
cess, and sustained by the devotion of his real friends, — who, 
if scant in number, were both faithful and influential, — Colon 
saw the days pass without either restiveness or misgiving. 



56 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

In the almost daily assaults and forays which took place 
around the besieged city, either to weaken the Moors or to 
repulse their sallies, he several times took part, and proved 
himself to be as brave a soldier as he was a skilful and in- 
trepid sailor. He had no love of fighting for its own sake, 
and his whole life showed that he was sparing of men's blood 
even under circumstances when, according to the morals of 
his time, he would have been applauded for shedding it ; 
but to him a Moor was a limb of Satan, and it was a Chris- 
tian's duty to fight him wherever he was found. So, having 
had plenty of experience in his younger days, he offered 
his sei-vices now ; and his long arm and practised muscles 
made the Moorish helmet upon which his sword fell ring 
again. 

Thus, with constant discussion and consideration of his 
great project among his friends, and occasional conferences 
with their Majesties or some one deputed by them, as to the 
practical details of its accomplishment, Colon passed the 
time waiting for his day to come. "Time and I against 
the world," the Spaniards say ; and at length he heard the 
hour sound when his great work was to be consummated. 
On the second day of January, 1492, Muley Boabdil the 
Moor delivered to King Ferdinand the keys of the city 
which had for so long resisted the Spanish arms, and after 
saluting the queen, started with his suite toward the distant 
sierra, where, as the legends say, he turned to take a last 
look at the beautiful capital he loved so well. Few passages 
in history are more pathetic, none is more worthily told, 
than this turning of the exiled king to gaze for the last time 
on the land of his fathers and the home of his faith. And 
yet even the eloquence of an Irving should fail with us of 
the New World in arousing any feeling of regret over the 
unfortunate monarch's woes ; for " The Last Sigh of the 
Moor" dispersed forever the mists which had shrouded our 
half of the earth since the day of its creation. 

The queen kept punctually her promise to Colon, notwith- 
standing the thousand and one matters requiring the royal 
decision. The disposition to be made of the conquered 



BARGAINING FOR A WORLD. 57 

Moors ; the establishment of an administration, civil, military, 
and ecclesiastic, for the new province ; the rewards for those 
who had distinguished themselves in the campaign ; the 
financial and other measures to be considered in view of 
the cessation of the long war, — all these, with the constant 
requirements of the rest of her kingdom, were enough to 
excuse the queen from adding to her cares the expedition 
planned by Colon. What possible consideration could a 
Stanley or a Nordenskjold have hoped for had he laid his 
plans for a journey across Africa or a voyage to the North 
Pole before the Emperor William the very week that Paris 
fell ? Yet in the midst of just such a season of busy excite- 
ment and triumphant confusion did Queen Isabella recall 
her pledge to the Genoese navigator, and take from her 
manifold other duties the time to consider his petition and 
appoint a commission of her officers to agree with him upon 
the details of his enterprise. 

These negotiations progressed but slowly, despite the 
well-known sympathy of the queen. In the first place, 
yielding to the fanatic zeal of their priestly advisers, the 
Spanish monarchs had decided to expel from their king- 
doms all the Jews who were settled therein, to the number 
of several hundred thousand, and send them after the 
Moors ; and the practical method of carrying out this meas- 
ure called for much discussion and consideration on the part 
of their Majesties' counsellors. In the second place, the 
commissioners considered that Colon's demands were ex- 
travagant, and even impudent. He asked to be made ad- 
miral of their Majesties in the western ocean, with sole 
authority over the lands he might discover therein, and re- 
ceive besides one tenth of all the profits arising from what- 
ever discoveries he might make. Until now most of the 
members of the commission, and especially its chief, Fer- 
nando de Talavera, had disputed the feasibility of Colon's 
plans, and looked upon them as the dream of a visionary. 
But once he had the audacity to aspire to the high dignity 
of an admiral of Castile, with all of its elaborate privileges 
and honors, it was clear that he must be taught to know his 



58 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

place ; and the question of the discovery of a new road to 
Asia became a matter of no importance in comparison with 
the colossal presumption of this foreign sailor. This much 
did the worthy prelate, Talavera, say to Colon in no very 
gentle words. Having himself just been promoted to be 
Archbishop of Granada, the idea of any other mortal aspir- 
ing to an equally high office in another branch of the royal 
service seemed to him especially absurd. 

" I say not, most reverend sir," was Colon's reply, " that 
I am wholly worthy of so great an honor at their Majesties' 
hands ; but this I do affirm, and must maintain, that in 
order honorably to represent their Majesties before the 
potentates of Asia, and to preserve a proper discipline in 
the new lands I shall discover, and to have that weight of 
authority without which the expedition I propose must 
surely end in disaster and distress, I must be clothed with a 
fitting dignity. Since this enterprise is to be conducted by 
means of ships and upon the sea, I conceive the most ex- 
pedient form for this authority I need to be the office of 
Admiral for their Highnesses. As for the tithe which I exact 
from the fruits of my discovery, 't is but justice, and no 
more ; moreover it is dedicated to a holy purpose by my 
vows, and cannot be abated. I crave your Eminence's par- 
don, if I speak with unseemly boldness ; but from my words 
I cannot turn back." 

There was much discussion in the commission as to this 
stand of Colon's. His own friends urged him to accept 
some other title, or make such concession as might be re- 
quired to secure a prompt adjustment of his contract with 
the Crown ; but while grateful for their interest, he was 
inflexible. 

" I may not alter my position because I must not, hon- 
ored fiiend," he answered to Quintanilla, the queen's audi- 
tor-general, who pressed him strongly to abate his demands. 
" With less authority I cannot fitly serve our sovereigns in 
those distant lands, and with less reward I cannot fulfil the 
vows I have made to redeem the Holy Sepulchre. If I find 
for the Crown of Castile the continent of Asia, what I ask is 



BARGAINING FOR A WORLD. 59 

little enough ; if I find it not, the Crown loses naught. But 
this I fear not. It is written that I shall not fail," he added 
with a grave smile. 

What passed between the new archbishop and Queen 
Isabella we do not know ; but when the commission again 
convened he announced that her Majesty concurred in 
thinking the claims of Colon excessive, and therefore they 
could not be granted. This was a hard blow to Colon ; but 
he would not yield a hair-breadth. Taking his leave of 
the queen's commissioners, he sought out his friends, and 
bade them farewell. His plans were not yet made, he told 
them ; but he thought he should seek the Court of France 
as he had started to do the year before. 

" What has moved her Majesty to take this view I know 
not," he said to his friend Fray Diego de Deza ; "but this 
I do know, that her generous aid and sympathy shall ever be 
borne in my mind, and my children's children shall bless her 
name. I pray you make my humblest acknowledgments to 
her Majesty." 

With this he set out from the city, intending to return to 
the little convent at Palos, and there think out new plans in 
conference with the two good friends who had shown so in- 
telligent and disinterested a sympathy with his aims. But 
his friends at Court were no less devoted ; for no sooner 
had he left them than Luiz de Santangel hastened to lay be- 
fore the queen the injustice and unwisdom of losing all the 
benefits expected from this enterprise for the sake of a point 
of etiquette which might amount to nothing, and so revived 
her sympathies that she despatched a messenger to recall 
Colon with the assurance that her Majesty herself would 
answer for the acceptance of his conditions. 

Three months had passed in these dilatory and provoking 
discussions. On the 30th of March the edict expelling the 
Jews was published, and on April 17 the "capitulation," 
or formal contract, between Colon and the Crown was signed 
by their Majesties on the bases which he had originally 
proposed to the King of Portugal and so steadfastly insisted 
upon in all his long negotiations with the Court of Castile. 



6o WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

The document itself was short enough, considering its 
weighty matter. Colon had only asked for three ships, 
pointing out that two of these were already practically 
available if use were made of the penalty laid upon Palos, 
and had estimated the whole cost of his undertaking at the 
moderate sum of a single cuento, or one million of mara- 
vedies.^ These the sovereigns had consented to furnish, and 
there only remained to be executed the agreement as to 
Colon's reward in the event of his enterprise proving suc- 
cessful. Their Majesties accordingly had instructed Juan 
de Coloma, one of their principal secretaries, to draw up 
this contract in proper official form, and present it to them 
for ratification ; and this had now been done. The proposal 
of Colon being in the nature of a petition, the " capitula- 
tion " assumed the character of a reply thereto ; and hence 
it was that the document finally submitted to Ferdinand and 
Isabella for their approval was couched in the following 
language : — 

" THE matters petitioned for, which Your Highnesses hereby 
grant and bestow upon Don Cristoval Colon, in partial compensa- 
tion for what he is about to discover in the Ocean Seas and for 
the voyage which he is now, with the help of God, about to make 
therein upon Your Highnesses' service, are those which follow: 

" Firstly.2 Your Highnesses, as Sovereigns (which you are) 
of the said Ocean Seas, hereby constitute Don Cristoval Colon 
your Admiral in all those islands and mainlands which by his skill 
or efforts shall be discovered m the said Ocean Seas, for himself 
during his lifetime, and, after his death, for his heirs and succes- 
sors from one to the other forever; with all the dignities and 
prerogatives pertaining to the said rank, according as Don Alonso 
Henriquez, Your Hi<jhnesses' Admiral of Castile, and his prede- 
cessors in the said office were accustomed to exercise it in their 
several districts." 

1 The accounts, which were closed in August, 1494, give the total 
cost of this voyage as one million one hundred and forty thousand 
maravedies, or about twelve thousand three hundred dollars of our 
money, — truly a jirofitable speculation for the thrifty Ferdinand ! 
For the source of these funds, consult Note F in the Apjiendix. 

2 We coi'y the text of the capitulation as recorded in Navarrete, 
tomo ii. jiag 7. 



BARGAINING FOR A WORLD. 6 1 

The king and queen having given their assent to this 
clause, the secretary wrote beneath it, — 

"This is satisfactory to their Highnesses. 

" JUAX DE COLOMA." 

" Also. Your Highnesses appoint the said Don Cristoval 
Colon to be your Viceroy and Governor-General in all of the said 
islands and mainlands which, as has been said, he shall discover 
or acquire in those Seas ; and permit that, for the proper govern- 
ment of each and all of the same, he shall make choice of three 
individuals for every office, from among whom Your Highnesses 
shall choose and select that one who shall be best for your ser- 
vice ; and thus shall be the better ruled all those countries which 
Our Lord may allow him to find and acquire for the benefit of 
Your Highnesses." 

Again the royal assent was given, and the secretary made 
the minute, — 

"This is satisfactory to their Highnesses. 

"Juan DE CoLOMA." 

"Also. Of all the merchandise of every kind, — whether 
pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, or other articles of 
whatever sort, kind, or description they may be, — which shall 
be purchased, secured by barter, found, acquired, or had in any 
manner within the limits of the said Admiral's jurisdiction, Your 
Highnesses hereby bestow upon Don Cristoval Colon, as a 
gratuity, the tenth part of everything ; and desire that he enjoy 
it and use it for himself, the costs of acquisition being first de- 
ducted. That is to say; of all that shaU remain clear and free 
after paying the expenses, he shall take the one-tenth part for 
himself to do with it as he will, and the other nine parts shall 
remain for Your Highnesses." 

This was certainly a broad and ample return to make to 
any man, however great his services, considering that the 
object of Colon's search was nothing less than the whole 
continent of Asia ; but their Majesties showed no stint in 
their liberality, and agreed to this clause without remon- 
strance, — perhaps because it cost them no pangs to give 
away what was not theirs. 



62 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

"This is satisfactory to their Highnesses," wrote Juan de 
Coloma again, and signed his name. 

"Also. The said petitioner enquires whether, if any dispute 
should arise in the place where such commerce and trading shall 
be carried on, either on account of the merchandise which he may 
bring from the said islands and mainlands to be discovered and 
acquired by him, as before said, or on account of goods taken 
from merchants here to be exchanged for the products of the 
said countries, it shall pertain to his prerogatives as Admiral 
to decide such dispute? And he begs that it may please Your 
Highnesses that provision should be made for this now, so that 
he, or his lieutenant, and not any other judge, shall determine 
such causes." 

This was asking a good deal of the jealous monarchs of 
Spain, for nothing was considered more absolutely a pre- 
rogative of royalty than the administration of justice. But 
even at this the king and queen did not recoil. 

"This is satisfactory to their Highnesses," the secretary 
was directed to write, " provided that it pertains to the said 
rank of Admiral according to what was practised by the 
Admiral Don Alonso Henriquez and his predecessors in 
their respective districts, and provided it is just." And to 
this he signed his name. 

"Also. In all the ships which shall be fitted out for the said 
business and commerce, whenever and wherever and as often as 
they shall be despatched, the said Don Cristoval Colon may, if 
he shall so desire, contribute and pay the one-eighth part of all 
that shall be expended in their preparation, and shall then also 
receive and enjoy the one-eighth part of all the profit resulting 
from the voyages of such ships." 

To this stipulation Colon attached a particular impor- 
tance. One of the chief reproaches of those who had 
opposed his project, both in Portugal and Spain, had been 
that it was all a reckless speculation on his part ; that he 
ventured nothing, and would be in any event the gainer. 
If he discovered Asia, they observed, great dignities and 
emoluments would be his ; but even if he failed in his 
effort, he would have secured the command of a royal 
squadron with all its rank and perquisites, and this, they 



BARGAINING FOR A WORLD. ^l 

argued, was in itself a great inducement to the needy foreign 
adventurer. They failed to consider that he contributed 
the utmost any man has, — his life and all that it embraced ; 
but critics of this class never do imagine that any (other) 
man's life can be worth anything to himself. Colon was 
quick to realize this ; and to testify his faith in the practical 
results of his undertaking and the sincerity of his proposals, 
he insisted on being allowed to take an eighth share in the 
enterprise, as a purely commercial venture.^ 

To this the Spanish sovereigns had made no objection, — 
an additional proof of how little they realized the possibil- 
ities of this strange partnership. " This is satisfactory to 
their Highnesses," the secretary was told to write \ and to 
this affixed his signature. 

These were the only clauses in the contract between the 
Crown of Spain and the Genoese captain who undertook to 
find for it a western route to the Indies, and found instead 
a western world. The secretary read them again to the 
king and queen, and, with the royal sanction, added the 
formal certificate of their approval : — 

" The aforesaid petitions are granted and conceded, with the 
replies of Your Highnesses at the end of each paragraph, this 
seventeenth day of April in the year of the Birth of Our Sav- 
iour Jesus Christ One thousand four hundred and ninety-two, in 
this city of Santa F^, in the Plain of Granada." 

The king and queen now attached their signatures to the 
contract, and returned it to their officer. " By order of the 
King and Queen, Juan de Coloma," attested the secretary; 
and then the parchment was handed to Juan Roiz de 
Calcena, another of the royal secretaries to be registered in 
the chancellery. 

And now the deed was done ; the treaty of partition 
made. It was neither an intricate nor a prolix instrument. 
Colon was to have rank, dignities, authority, emoluments, 
and a tithe of all that his discoveries produced, even should 
he not avail himself of his option to take an eighth share in 

1 His friend, Las Casas, is very explicit in his statement of Co- 
lumbus's motive in making this stipulation. 



64 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the profits of the adventure besides. The Spanish sover- 
eigns were to have, as they hoped, the glorious mission of 
converting the vast multitudes of Asia to the Christian 
religion, and the incidental advantage of diverting the 
countless treasures of the Orient into the depleted coffers 
of Castile. The bargani was not an unfair one had it been 
kept in good faith. But the vagueness of its conditions 
proved fatal to Colon's just claims, and though he was 
persistent in insisting to his dying day that his rank applied 
to all the Spanish discoveries in America, and his interests 
combined amounted to "nearly twenty-five per cent" oiall 
that Spain had received or ever should receive from the 
New World, Ferdinand found it an easy task to interpret 
the "capitulation" to suit his own more royal, if less loyal, 
views and necessities. 

Of this, fortunately for him, Colon had no anticipation. 
Happy in the realization of his high hopes, and burning 
with a desire to crown expectation with achievement, he 
threw himself into the work of arranging the numberless 
details called for by the extraordinary nature of his pro- 
jected journey. The next two weeks were full of busy 
preparation at the royal Court ; for now Colon's counsel and 
suggestion carried weight, and his views were solicited upon 
every measure contemplated. On the other hand, the 
orders and decrees issued in quick succession by Ferdinand 
and Isabella during the latter days of April give clear evi- 
dence of the earnestness of their interest, and their firm 
determination to spare no effort to make the voyage a 
success, so far as lay in their power. One decree named 
Colon Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and Viceroy and Gover- 
nor-general for the Crown of Spain over all the lands he 
should discover, as the "capitulation" provided; although, 
as was but just, he was not to assume these honors until after 
his discoveries had been made, his office in the mean time 
being that of Captain-general of the fleet he was author- 
ized to equip. Another decree directed the authorities of 
the whole coast of Andalusia to furnish to him three ships 
with which to make the voyage, and also all the provisions 



BARGAINING FOR A WORLD. 65 

and supplies — timber, powder, arms, dried meat, fish, 
biscuit, wine, and oil — which he might need; and to 
supply him with all the ship-carpenters, calkers, riggers, 
and other artisans he should require for putting his vessels 
in proper condition. Another ordered the officials of the 
Crown throughout the same seaboard to find for Colon the 
pilots, shipmasters, and mariners he needed for his squad- 
ron ; and in case of their refusing to serve, to compel them 
to accompany him. Still another decree, which was issued 
at Colon's personal request, guaranteed to those who sailed 
with him that they should not, while absent with him or 
immediately upon their return, be sued or sentenced in the 
courts of Spain for any offence or crime previously com- 
mitted, — a precaution very necessary, as he explained, when 
men were wanted for a long cruise ; as during their absence 
at sea they might be prosecuted for all sorts of claims, just 
and unjust, and condemned without a chance of being 
heard. Another royal order excepted from inland taxes 
and duties all the materials and supplies taken by Colon ; 
while others yet assured to those who supplied the expedi- 
tion either with the ships or their equipment and provis- 
ions, as well as to their officers and crews, that they should 
be paid full value for their property or services at the 
current market-rates. It was not intended to confiscate 
the vessels or supplies, or oblige the sailors to serve for 
nothing ; but knowing the opposition likely to arise among 
the ignorant inhabitants of the seaports against trusting 
their property and precious selves to a voyage into unknown 
waters, the sovereigns used their arbitrary powers over the 
lives and property of their subjects, to enable Colon to 
secure what he needed by force, if he could not obtain it 
by fair trade and argument. 

To all these mandates was added one other, the most 
notable of all, which called upon the parish of Palos, by 
name, to deliver to Colon, as he might select, the two ships 
whose services were due to the Crown, and with them the 
equipments and crews he should judge necessary. Thus, 
although the whole province of Andalusia was nominally 

S 



66 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

obliged to find the three ships destined for the voyage, this 
particular port was compelled to furnish two of them in 
virtue of the sentence under which it lay. 

In all this work of preparation and arrangement Colon 
took a keen delight, and his knowledge and experience are 
evident in the care and completeness with which all the 
details are planned. As yet his destination had not been 
made public, partly to avoid the difficulties which would 
come from alarming those whom it was desired to enlist in 
the undertaking, but chiefly to conceal for as long as pos- 
sible the plans of the Spanish monarchs from their adven- 
turous rival of Portugal. The decrees merely stated that 
Cristoval Colon was going " to certain parts of the ocean on 
a mission concerning the interests of the Crown." What 
these " certain parts " were was scarcely more plainly set 
forth in the several letters of credence which, at his request, 
were given him by their Majesties, addressed to the Great 
and Mighty Khan of Asia, and other lesser potentates, of 
whom so little was known that their names and realms were 
left in blank ! 

By the first week in May all his work, so far as it lay at 
the Court, was finished, and Colon was ready to proceed 
to the coast and begin the work of collecting his ships 
and their crews, and fitting them out for his long voyage. 
But before leaving, the queen added an unmistakable evi- 
dence of her personal sympathy and confidence by appoint- 
ing young Diego Colon a page to her son. Prince Juan ; 
thereby relieving his father of all anxiety on the boy's 
account, and testifying her esteem for him by bestowing on 
his son an honor eagerly sought by the nobles of the king- 
dom for their own children. 

Deeply sensible of the cordial support and distinguished 
honor done him by their Majesties, Colon took his leave 
of them and of his faithful friends at Court ; and, followed 
by many an earnest wish and devout prayer for his complete 
success, left Granada on the 1 2th of May, and made his 
way with all speed toward the sea-coast and the little 
convent of La Rabida. 



VI. 

"I, THE KING!" AND "I, THE QUEEN!" 

AGAIN the three friends are gathered together in the 
good superior's room in the Httle convent on the 
hill ; but in what different circumstances ! — the friar and 
the physician, proud in the consciousness of having brought 
about a notable work through their acuteness and earnest 
faith ; the wearied stranger, now a noble of Spain, and High 
Admiral if his voyage but confirms his confident hopes, 
holding their Majesties' commission with full powers to pro- 
cure all he needs for making the attempt ; the young lad in 
the garden below, a page to the prince, with an income which 
many a grown man of those times would envy. 

On the massive table before them, instead of the single 
dingy map over which they had pored six months before, 
now lay a number of fresh and imposing parchments, abound- 
ing in capitals and flourishes, and having great seals attached. 
The superior laid down the one he had been reading and 
turned to Colon, — 

" It will doubtless be your wish, Senor Cristoval, that 
these be published without loss of time. Have you thought 
how we may best serve you in the matter? " 

"I have thought. Father," Colon replied, "that the 
surest way will be for his Reverence, the curate of the par- 
ish, to give notice, as is customary, that letters have arrived 
from their Majesties, and summon his flock on an appointed 
day to hear them read. In this both you and our friend 
the Senor Garcia can much assist me ; for the sooner it is 
done, the sooner can we set to work." 



68 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

" If you will go with me, Senor Captain," the younger 
man said, giving Colon his new title half playfully, " I will 
gladly call on my cousin Francisco Fernandes, their Majes- 
ties' notary in our parish, and ask him to arrange the mat- 
ter with Fray Martin, our priest. We are now at Monday, 
and if he give notice to-morrow, their Majesties' commands 
can be read to the people on Wednesday, if so it please 
you." 

" Nay, the quicker the better, my friend," said Colon. 
" I fear the hardest part of our task is but beginrting." 

The superior nodded his head emphatically. 

" Money you have, and decrees you have and to spare, 
good Seiior Cristoval ; but unless a miracle befall these 
oaken-headed mariners of ours, 't will be no easy thing to get 
your ships equipped and their crews upon them. Yet must 
this come to pass, if not one day, then another; for the 
orders of their Majesties must be obeyed. This, too, our 
mutinous neighbors know full well, but they must needs 
grumble and rebel until the latest moment." 

" Since God has filled their Highnesses' hearts with the 
spirit of this enterprise, I fear no other resistance that can 
be brought against it by men," said Colon. " Beyond dis- 
pute it will be far better if we do not have to use harshness 
in obtaining our fleet ; for an unwilling crew is hard to 
handle once they lose the sight of land." 

In the afternoon Colon and the physician visited the no- 
tary of the village, and showing him the royal decree ad- 
dressed to the inhabitants of Palos, requested him to ask the 
parish priest to summon his people to hear it read on the 
second morning following. The notary, standing hat in 
hand in presence of his sovereigns' signatures, promised 
readily to have this done ; and also, in answer to the physi- 
cian's injunctions, to say nothing of the tenor of the docu- 
ment except to Fray Martin. 

The next day, when Garcia Fernandez paid his usual visit 
to the convent, he was able to say to Colon and the supe- 
rior that the curate of the village church had duly given no- 
tice of the arrival of certain letters from their Majesties, 



"/, THE KING!" AND " /, THE QUEEN!" 69 

and called upon all of his parishioners, as they were good sub- 
jects, to come to the church on the following day and hear 
the documents read aloud. The same notice, the physician 
added, would be given at the evening service. 

This second warning was, indeed, superfluous ; for by 
noon of Tuesday every soul in the district, from the fisher- 
men on the bay beyond Saltes, to the laborers in the vine- 
yards away up around Moguer, had heard that a message had 
come from Court and was to be read at church next day. 
What it was no one knew for certain ; but few doubted that 
it had something to do with that old sentence of Council 
which had been hanging for so long above their heads. 
And as they spoke of this, every man who owned a plank in 
a ship vowed beneath his breath that it should be his neigh- 
bor's vessel and not his own that should be chosen for what- 
ever service was stipulated. 

On that Wednesday morning, the 23d of April in the year 
of Grace 1492, the little church of St. George of Palos 
was crowded to a degree which would have delighted its 
worthy priest had he not known that curiosity and not piety 
had been the attracting influence. There were assembled 
all the dignitaries of the village, its alcaldes and regidors, 
and the clerk of the Council for that district, and the al- 
caides, and the notary Francisco, each in his most impos- 
ing costume ; and there were the Pinzons, the wealthiest 
inhabitants of the neighborhood, with their f.imilies ; and 
there was a great crowd of fishermen and sailors, and hard- 
featured vineyard hands, — both men and women, — and a 
slight sprinkling of small landed proprietors or well-to-do 
ship-owners from the surrounding district, among whom 
stood out the bullet-pate of Juan Rodriguez of the hard 
head. Wherever their elders had left room, the bare-legged, 
brown-skinned urchins of the place packed themselves in, 
waiting in open-mouthed wonder to see what should happen 
next. 

Colon entered the church accompanied by Fray Antonio 
and his son Diego, and was soon joined by Garcia Fernandez 
and his cousin the notary. The morning service was de- 



70 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

voutly recited by all present, Colon especially taking part 
with noticeable earnestness. When the religious offices were 
over, the curate announced that the senor notary would now 
read their Highnesses' commands to their loyal subjects of 
Palos ; and a dead silence fell upon the crowded audience. 
Taking a scroll of parchment from his velvet doublet, — for 
he had dressed himself in holiday attire, being ever partic- 
ular as to forms and ceremonies, — Colon opened it and 
bowed his head in salute of the royal signatures as he 
handed it to Francisco Fernandes. 

Calling to his side the village authorities, and displaying 
the names of the king and queen and their seals pressed in 
colored wax, the notary read in a high-pitched voice the 
following : — 

"DON Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the Grace of God 
King and Queen of Castile, of Leon, of Aragon, of Sicily, of 
■Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of the Balearic 
Isles, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Cordova, of Corsica, of Murcia, 
of Jaen, of the Algarves, of Algecira, of Gibraltar, and of the 
Canary Islands; Counts of Barcelona; Dukes of Athens and of 
Neopatria; Counts of Ronsillon and of Cerdania ; Marquises of 
Oristan and of Gociano ; 

"To you, Diego Rodriguez Prieto, and to all other persons, 
your friends and neighbors of the town of Palos, and to each one 
of you, health and happiness ! 

" Well do you know that for certain acts done and committed 
by you all in disobedience of Our commands, you were con- 
demned by Our Council to serve Us for twelve months with two 
vessels, armed at your own cost and expense, whenever and 
wherever you should be by Us commanded, upon certain penal- 
ties, as is set forth more at length in the before-mentioned sen- 
tence which was rendered against you." 

As the notary reached this point and stopped to take 
breath, Diego Prieto shifted uneasily from one leg to the 
other, looking extremely uncomfortable the while. 

" And now," the notary continued to read, " inasmuch as We 
have commanded Cristoval Colon that he should go with a fleet 
of three ships to certain parts of the Ocean Sea upon sundry 
affairs which relate to Our service, and We desire that he take 



"7, THE KINGi" AND "I, THE QUEEN!" yi 

with him the two vessels with which you are bound, in the said 
manner, to serve Us, We therefore order you that within the ten 
days first following the day on which you are summoned by this 
Letter, without making any petition to Us, or consulting with 
Us, or waiting for anything, or needing any further Letter from 
Us about the matter, you have equipped and put in order the said 
two armed vessels, as you are bound to do in virtue of the said 
sentence, ready to sail with the said Cristoval Colon wherever 
We may order him to go." 

When the notary read this paragraph, loud murmurs 
arose from all over the church. Those who knew Colon by 
sight were pointing him out to those who did not, and both 
from men and women were to be heard exclamations of 
protest and dissatisfaction. 

" In their Majesties' name, silence ! " shouted the notary. 
" We are here to listen to their Highnesses' commands, like 
good and loyal subjects ; not to pass censure upon them." 

" And upon the completion of the said period," he resumed read- 
ing, "you shall depart with him and thenceforth sail with him 
wherever and whenever he, on Our part, shall say and direct. And 
We have ordered him to advance to you, for those of you who go 
upon the said cruise, four months' wages at the rates which are 
paid to the sailors from other ports who are also to go with him 
in your two ships and in the third ship which We order him to 
take ; which wages are to be the same as are paid along your 
coast to men who go to sea in armed vessels. And, hav- 
ing thus set out, you are to follow the course which he, on 
Our behalf, shall lay down for you, and you are to obey his com- 
mands and follow his orders and directions; provided, however, 
that neither you, nor the said Cristoval Colon, nor any of the 
others who should go on the said vessels, shall go to the Mine 
of Guinea, nor to the district thereabouts, which belong to the 
Very Noble King of Portugal, Our Brother, since it is Our de- 
sire to respect and cause to be respected the treaty We have 
made on this point with the said King." 

As these last sentences did not interest the audience par- 
ticularly, the hum of conversation again broke out, although 
somewhat less indignantly than before. Clearly the men- 
tion of full wages for all who shipped on this cruise, and four 
months' pay in advance, had brought about some change of 



'J2 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

mind, especially among the sea-faring men present. It was 
one thing to be driven against their wills to go on a voy- 
age of which they knew nothing, and another to be offered 
full wages and a handsome sum down ! Altogether the 
rugged mariners of Palos began to think rather less unfavor- 
ably of this stranger and his cruise. 

Again commanding attention, the notary continued to 
read through to the end of the document : — 

"And when you shall bring a certificate signed by the said 
Captain that he is satisfied with your service with the said two 
armed vessels, We shall consider you to be freed from the said 
penalty which by the sentence of Our Council was imposed upon 
you, and from now until that time and from that time until now 
We shall consider tliat We have been well and fully served by 
you in the matter of the said vessels for the whole time and in 
the manner demanded of you by Our said Council. With no- 
tice to you, however, which We now give, that if you should not 
do as herein commanded, or in the execution hereof should make 
any excuse or delay. We shall order to be executed upon you 
and upon every one of you, and upon your property, all the pains 
and penalties which were laid upon you in the said sentence. 
And let none of you do otherwise than as herein commanded, 
upon pain of Our displeasure and a fine of ten thousand mara- 
vedies from each of you to be paid to Our Treasury; under 
which penalty We also command whatever Public Notary shall 
be called for the purpose, that he give a written certificate wher- 
ever he may publish this Letter, so that We may know how Our 
mandates have been obeyed." 

The notary, on reading this clause, drew himself up with 
much importance, and looked severely about him before 
concluding. 

" Given in Our city of Granada on the thirtieth day of April, 
in the Year of Our Lord one thousand five hundred and 
ninety-two." 

Here the reader paused to draw a long breath. 

" I, the Kmg ! " he shouted. 

Then after another slight pause, — 

" I, the Queen ! " in equally loud tones. 

In the hush which followed the enunciation of these two 



"/, THE KIA'G!" AND " /, THE QUEEN!" 73 

august names, the notary rattled off the " tail-piece " of the 
weighty document : — 

"Signed by their Majesties and sealed in colored wax on pa- 
per. I, Juan de Coloma, Secretary of the King and Queen, our 
sovereigns, have caused this to be written out at their High- 
nesses' orders. Compared, registered, and entered at the Royal 
Chancellery, and signed by the respective officials. No fees to 
be paid. May God save their Majesties ! " 

What all this last part meant, his hearers could not tell, 
for he jumbled it all together in one sentence ; but when 
they heard the familiar invocation for their Majesties, even 
the dullest knew that the ceremony was over, and the 
crowd began to leave the church, anxious to get outside 
and talk the whole matter over. 

Colon turned to Diego Prieto, as the chief magistrate . of 
the village, and said with every evidence of respect, — 

" Will your Worship have the goodness to see that their 
Highnesses' commands are executed, Senor Alcalde? I 
would beg that all possible speed be used, and for my own 
part will gladly be of every help I may." 

" Surely, worthy captain, surely," the alcalde answered 
deferentially. "Their Majesties' commands shall be hon- 
ored, and that with diligence. But I know not, at the very 
moment, which ships will best suit your purpose, Seiior." 

" We will confer as to that more at your leisure, good sir, 
if so it please you," Colon replied. " Meanwhile I must 
ask our honored friend the notary to draw up a certificate 
for me, setting forth that their Majesties' letter was duly 
read, and get your Worships all to sign it." 

"That shall be done, Senor Captain," said Francisco, 
stiffly. Then turning to the village officials about him, he 
explained : " 'T is in the body of the document that so it is 
to be done, Sefiores, and I must look carefully to it." 

As Colon, accompanied by his friends and Diego Prieto, 
came out of the church, he found the greater part of the 
audience separated into groups about the entrance, eagerly 
discussing the morning's incident. It was apparent that the 



74 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

larger number still regarded the proposed voyage with dis- 
favor ; but whether this was because no destination was 
named, or because Colon was a stranger and the cruise was 
considered as a punishment, it was not easy to say. Both 
the superior and Garcia Fernandez looked grave as they 
noted the vigorous gestures and heard the loud voices of 
the groups around them. 

As they came out of the building, old Juan Rodriguez left 
the knot of men where he was standing, and came up to 
Colon with an awkward salutation. 

"How then, Master?" he asked in his heavy-weather tones ; 
" is the cruise in truth to be so long a one ? Some of our old 
women here are saying your Worship will never come back." 

" If thou wilt go with me, Juan Rodriguez," Colon said 
promptly, " thou shall not only come back, please God, but 
bring thy cap full of golden ducats as well." 

"Nay, Master, thac I cannot do, the worse forme ! " he 
grumbled. " The vineyard would go to waste, and my old 
woman will never let me haul a rope again ; the saints forgive 
me for tying to her ! But if I cannot go myself I will send 
some one to take my place," the old fellow said with vigor. 

" Well, Comrade," said Colon, laughing, " if thoU canst not 
join me, thou canst in any case bring me some good, stout 
lads to make the voyage. Thou knowest the kind I like, 
old friend." 

" That can I do, and with a good will. Master," Juan 
replied, turning to rejoin his neighbors. 

One of the latter was declaring, with much emphasis, that 
none but madmen would sail on a voyage which was going 
to lead no one knew whither. As for him, he pronounced, 
all the alcaldes in Andalusia could not force him to go on 
this one. 

'' I mind not sailing in Christian seas," the speaker added, 
as if to save his courage ; " but for these voyages to the coasts 
of Africa and into oceans we know not of, I want none of 
them." 

" Old, Neighbor," said the doughty Juan, as he came up, 
'•' 't were better to hold thy peace than thus to tattle like an 



"/, THE KING!" AND "/, THE QUEEN!'' 75 

old nurse. As for voyages, yonder captain knows more of 
the sea when asleep at night than thou dost at midday with 
thine eyes wide open ; and as for strange oceans, why, one 
drop of salt water is just like another. 'T is only when thou 
gettest too much within thee that it does thee any harm. If 
it is this that scares thee, 't were wise to stay at home and 
card wool. If thou but keepest close enough to thy house, 
thou canst never drown." 

Having thus turned the laugh on the fault-finder, the old 
sailor began to extol Colon, and speak about the voyage with 
an appearance of knowledge he was very far from possessing. 

It required no prophet to foretell that trouble was brewing 
for the new Captain-general ; and as Colon and his party 
made their way back to LaRabida, they debated earnestly 
the means to be adopted to convert their parchment decrees 
into serviceable ships and crews. ^ 

^ The circumstances attending the reading of the fateful decree are 
derived from the notarial certificate prepared at the time, and copied 
in Navarrete, torao ii. pag. 13. 



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VII. 
THE HEAVY HAND OF JUAN DE PENALOSA. 

\T riTHIN twenty-four hours it became clear that a 
V V stubborn resistance would be made to the royal 
commands, and that, so far from helping forward Colon's 
voyage in any way, the good people of Palos and Moguer 
intended to embarrass him by every means in their power. 
When he came to consult with Diego Prieto and the other 
authorities. Colon found himself opposed by that dead 
weight of passive resistance which the Spaniards and Portu- 
guese of the less intelligent classes can still exert with such 
exasperating stolidity. He did not see fit to explain to all 
he met that his intention was to sail to the remotest bounds 
of the western ocean, for that would merely have made mat- 
ters a hundredfold worse ; but he gave out, in answer to all 
inquiries, that he was bound on a voyage of discovery, and 
that those who went with him would find riches and wealth 
infinitely greater and in much less time than had been the 
case on any of the voyages made to Guinea or the African 
islands. But very few were convinced by his representa- 
tions. The owners of ships, without exception, claimed that 
their vessels were old, or rotten, or so out of repair that they 
could not go on a long voyage ; or gave some equally ready 
excuse for keeping them at home. The pilots, captains, 
and sailors with whom Colon or his friends spoke, gave a 
variety of reasons for their not going on the voyage, which 
showed that there was a general understanding throughout 
the neighborhood that if this foreign ship-captain wanted 



THE HEA VY HAND OF JUAN DE PEf^ALOSA. JJ 

to make discoveries in unknown seas he would have to go 
elsewhere for the means to do it. A handful of the more 
adventurous spirits, either stimulated by the love of excite- 
ment, or influenced by what they knew of Colon's abilities 
as a commander, agreed to go " if their shipmates would," 
and most of the turbulent characters of the vicinity were 
anxious to sail with him in order to take advantage of the 
royal exemption from trial and punishment during their 
absence. But by far the greater number took the ground 
expressed bluntly by a pilot of a good deal of influence 
thereabouts, one Juan de Mafra, whom his namesake of the 
hard head had urged to go, knowing the weight his example 
would have upon his neighbors. 

" Save thou thy breath against the time thy wife scolds 
thee. Comrade," replied the pilot to Juan Cabezudo, "and 
talk not to me of gold and pearls and spices. Often enough 
have I been promised these if I would but join some cruise 
to pirate against the Moors, or go on a voyage to pass some 
new cape in x'Vfrica ; and all that I have to show for my 
pains is this cut across my skull, and a shaking ague when- 
ever a damp wind blows. Thou canst have my share, and 
welcome, of all these treasures. As for me, though I do 
not doubt the Seiior Colon is a bold captain and a wise 
navigator, here I stay in this kingdom of Castile ; for I take 
his tales of new lands to be but an idle dream and a vain 
hope." 1 

While Diego Prieto and his fellow officials professed to be 
most anxious to give speedy execution to the royal decrees, 
it soon became evident to Colon and his friends that the 
authorities were doing all they could to aid the citizens in 
evading their obligation. Not only did they accept every 
flimsy pretext that was offered by the ship-owners or the 
sailors to escape making the voyage, but they allowed some 
of the most suitable vessels to leave the port so as to get 

1 Yet this same Juan de Mafra accompanied Columbus on his 
later voyages, and became one of the most famous pilots of the western 
ocean. His last great adventure was with Magellan, as pilot of the 
" Santiago " 



78 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

out of Colon's reach ; while, in their talks about the neigh- 
borhood, they dwelt lugubriously on the dangers of sailing in 
unknown waters, and on the hardship of being condemned 
to so dreadful a fate. 

Meantime Colon was working and watching, learning all 
about the ships of Palos and the adjoining coast, and be- 
coming acquainted with the names and acquirements of the 
pilots and captains and best-known sailors along the shore. 
With his friends he visited the adjacent towns and talked 
with the authorities and chief inhabitants ; trying to enlist 
them in his undertaking, and dwelling on the inducements 
offered by the voyage. He plainly saw that the ten days 
within which the parish of Palos should have furnished him 
with the two ships and crews, according to the decrees, 
were going to pass without this being done ; but he took it 
patiently, for he had already selected the ships he thought 
most available for his purpose, and had determined how 
they and their companies should be secured. 

When he had arrived at La Rabida, on this second visit. 
Fray Antonio had brought him into contact with the Pinzons, 
of whom both the friar and Garcia Fernandez had so often 
spoken ; and Colon had quickly established friendly rela- 
tions with the three brothers, usmg their mutual profession 
of the sea and their studies of its secrets as a starting-point. 
He made no mystery of his intended voyage of discovery in 
conversing with these men after the royal decrees had been 
read in the church ; but until he had carefully surveyed the 
ground and knew on what materials he could depend, he 
did not take them into his entire confidence, or make any 
overtures to them to join him in his enterprise. Once he 
knew just how the land lay, however, as to the ships and 
their crews, and had formed his plan of action, he resolved 
to lay the whole affair, so far as it was needful, before the 
Pinzons, and invite them to embark with him in the 
undertaking. 

Martin Alonzo Pinzon and his two brothers, Vicente 
Yanez and Francisco Martin, were by far the most influential 
residents in all the district about Palos. The oldest had 



THE HE A VY HAND OF JUAN DE PEN A LOS A. 79 

barely passed forty years of age, and the youngest was well 
under thirty, but as a family they had a standing and weight 
in the community which caused them to be consulted and 
listened to by their neighbors for leagues around, whether 
fishermen, or sailors, or farmers. For not only did the 
Pinzons own houses in Palos and Moguer, and vineyards 
and gardens as well, but they were also famous ship-owners 
and sea-captains, as the superior had told Colon on his first 
visit, and had made long and successful voyages both in the 
Mediterranean and along the western coasts of Africa and 
Europe. They were known far and wide to be bold and 
fortunate navigators, and were popular with the sailors they 
commanded ; especially Martin Alonzo, the oldest of the 
brothers, who had great authority with the seafaring men of 
the locality. 

In addition to these elements of importance, the Pinzons 
were bound by ties of relationship, more or less close, to 
half the inhabitants of the district ; and in a Spanish neigh- 
borhood these bonds are even yet carefully remembered 
and willingly acknowledged. Not only does the rural 
Spaniard's own family down to the remotest ramifications 
have in some measure a claim upon his consideration ; but 
the family of his wife has one as well, and the families of 
his brothers and sisters, and of his wife's brothers and sis- 
ters, and of the brothers and sisters of the wives or husbands 
of his own brothers and sisters, and of the wives or hus- 
bands of his wife's brothers and sisters, and so on and on 
until the brain refuses to grasp the wire- drawn connection. 
When to this appalling array of " parents " is added the 
countless host of " co-parents," caused by the adoption of 
godfather and godmother into a family, and the consequent 
recognition of all their families also, it will be easily under- 
stood that in a quiet country where changes were rare, a 
family would be connected in one way or another with every- 
body about it, and, if wealthy or in any wise better off than 
its neighbors, would exercise an important influence upon 
the body of the clan. In such relations did the Pinzon 
brothers stand to the whole countryside around Palos and 



80 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Moguer ; and Colon was quick to recognize the wisdom of 
his two friends in urging him to make an alliance with Mar- 
tin Alonzo if possible. For his part, Fray Antonio used all 
his eloquence and skill in interesting the oldest brother in 
Colon and his plans, — a task in which he was much assisted 
by the enthusiasm of the young physician, who, as he had 
already said, was himself related to the family. 

On Saturday, the 2d of June, the ten days granted by 
the royal decrees to the residents of Palos for the prepara- 
tion of the two ships expired. Not only were the ships 
not ready, but both owners and crews had flatly refused to 
lend their aid to any such "fool's quest" as that proposed 
by Colon. Just where he meant to go, or what he meant 
to do, they did not know ; but he was going off somewhere 
in the western ocean on a secret expedition, and they simply 
would not go with him. Any reference to the powers given 
him by their Majesties, to call in the aid of the law to 
compel the owners of ships to charter them to him and 
oblige the crews of the same to sail, was met with what 
amounted to a direct mutiny against the orders of the 
sovereigns. Colon determined, therefore, to despatch a 
messenger to the Court with a letter laying before their 
Majesties the exact condition of affairs in Palos and its 
vicinity, and asking for such further powers as might enable 
him to secure obedience to the original commands of the 
crown. In the mean while he decided to show his whole 
hand to Martin Alonzo, and try to make an arrange- 
ment with him which, when backed up by the royal aid, 
would enable the squadron to be fitted out without further 
opposition. If once the Pinzons endorsed the enterprise. 
Colon reasoned, there would be far less talk about resist- 
ing the decrees, and all necessity for using force might be 
avoided. 

Martin Alonzo already knew, both from the orders which 
had been made public and from what Colon had told him, 
that the latter had their Majesties' authority for what he did, 
and that he was going to look for land in the west. But 
now Colon laid before him his commission as Admiral and 



THE HEAVY HAND OF JUAN DE PENALOSA. 8 1 

the conditions of his agreement with the Crown, and frankly 
invited Pinzon and his brothers to join him in the enter- 
prise. He explained his grounds for expecting to find Asia 
in the west, and offered to give the brothers a share in the 
profits of the undertaking, besides liberal salaries for them- 
selves and the pilots, or other skilful mariners, they might 
induce to accompany them. He was coo prudent a man to 
let Martin Alonzo fancy that his help was indispensable. If 
he would aid him. Colon said, so much the better for both, 
for it would bring wealth and honors to Pinzon and enable 
Colon to escape the use of force in fitting out his expedi- 
tion. But if Pinzon did not see his way clear to joining 
him. Colon would still carry out his undertaking, using their 
Majesties' authority for the purpose, and employing force 
where solicitations and offers of reward would not avail. 

To Martin Alonzo, particularly, the proposal was alluring. 
Like other intelligent and thoughtful seamen of the period, 
he had heard vague rumors of land beyond the ocean, and 
as he sailed along the Atlantic coasts of Africa and Europe 
had pondered and speculated upon what would be found 
out yonder, a thousand, or two thousand, or three thousand 
leagues to sea. Moreover, as the father superior had told 
Colon, the oldest Pinzon was somewhat of a reading-man ; 
and although the famous book of which Fray Antonio 
had spoken proved to be no such marvel, when examined, 
as he had thought, Colon found Martin Alonzo to be a 
man of judgment and observation, and very ready to agree 
with himself as to the probability of their finding Asia 
by sailing with the sun. When he learned that Colon had 
received the grant of a million maravedies for the expenses 
of the voyage, and was appointed to the highest marine 
office in the gift of the Spanish Crown, the existence of that 
western land became still more probable to Pinzon, and his 
inclination to have a share in its profits grew daily stronger. 
To him the gold and pearls and spices, the silks and gems 
and slaves, of these distant regions were no fictions. Had 
he not seen all these and other treasures in his voyages to 
the eastern ports of the Mediterranean? And did not these 

6 



82 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN' SEA. 

riches always and everywhere come somewhere from the 
East, ever from the East? True, this stranger navigator 
proposed to sail westward ; but was he not still seeking 
only a shorter route to the Indies than by the Red Sea 
and the Gulf of Ganges? And would not this discovery fill 
their ships with wealth unheard of, and make them all 
hidalgos? Thus Martin Alonzo argued, first to himself and 
afterward to his brothers ; until one hot summer's day he 
came to Colon and told him that if they could agree on 
terms he and his brothers would use their influence and 
resources to supply him with ships and crews, and would 
themselves go with him on the voyage. 

He reached this conclusion none too soon for his own 
peace of mind ; for on one of the last days of June a stranger, 
who was evidently " a somebody " from the state in which 
he travelled, rode through Moguer and on to Palos, where 
.he inquired for " the worshipful Senor Colon, the Captain of 
their Majesties' fleet there fitting out." Some of his hearers 
were inclined to make merry over the idea of Colon having 
a " fleet ; " but others felt rather uncomfortable on no- 
ticing the new-comer's air of authority, and directed him, 
with many protestations of service, to the convent of La 
Rabida. Here he was received by Colon and the supe- 
rior with evident delight, for he was no other than Juan 
de Penalosa, gentleman-in-waiting of their Majesties' own 
household ; and he came provided with imperative orders to 
aid Colon in every manner possible to start on his voyage as 
quickly as he could get away. The better to accomplish 
this he was commissioned to call upon all the authorities of 
the Crown, not only civil but military, if it should prove 
necessary, in order to enforce the royal decrees without fur- 
ther discussion or delay. 

Accompanied by Colon, with the superior, Garcia Fer- 
nandez, and Martin Alonzo to give more dignity to the inci- 
dent, early the next day the royal messenger went to the 
village and made known his orders to Diego Prieto and his 
fellow-officials. Great was the discomfiture of these worthies 
on learning that not only was their indifference to the royal 



THE HEAVY HAND OF JUAN DE FEI^ALOSA. 83 

commands known to the sovereigns, but that the latter had 
sent down an officer of their personal suite to see that the 
good people of Palos now did under direct compulsion what 
they should have more wisely done from loyalty. 

" May it please your Excellency," the poor alcalde said, 
in a huge flutter at the thought that there was really no 
earthly excuse for him and his associates to offer, "we have 
labored diligently as loyal subjects and officers of their 
Majesties to execute their Majesties' sacred commands. 
But all our best ships are away on cruises, and those that 
remain we have carefully examined, and feel not justified in 
sending them on so long a voyage as that the worshipful 
Senor Colon proposes to make ; for his Worship says he may 
be gone a year. As for our men, your Excellency, the wars 
have taken away a great part, and others are at sea, so it has 
not been as easy as it might seem to gather together so many 
seamen as the Seiior Colon needs ; and I hope we know too 
well our duties as faithful officers of the Crown to send any 
but our best and most practised seamen upon their Majesties' 
service." 

Here the other officials solemnly bobbed their heads, and 
looked as wise as so many owls. 

" Nevertheless, your Excellency," concluded Diego Prieto, 
feeling that he was making rather a neat speech, after all, 
" both I and my colleagues will redouble our efforts to com- 
ply with their Majesties' commands, and will send all along 
the coast to search out fitting ships for the Seiior Colon. 
In this will we endeavor to prove our zeal for their Majesties, 
and humbly hope that your Excellency will likewise be satis- 
fied that whatever delay has occurred has been occasioned 
by difficulties and embarrassments we could not surmount 
in the short time at our disposal, and is not due to any want 
of devotion or loyalty to our gracious sovereigns or their 
royal commands." 

" Your Worship need have no fear of being misconstrued, 
Senor Alcalde," said Juan de Peiialosa, dryly. "Their 
Majesties are quite as much assured of your anxiety to do 
them service in this business of the Seiior Colon as am I. 



84 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Nor will it be necessary for you to make so long and labori- 
ous a search for the vessels required, Senor Alcalde, for his 
Honor the Captain has found three ships here in Palos which, 
he affirms, will properly answer his needs. Since he is satis- 
fied, good sir, who has to sail in them, 't is not for you or 
me, under your favor, to find fault with them." 

*' Surely not, your Excellency," murmured Diego, " I am 
the more rejoiced that his Worship will have no further to 
seek." 

" As to the men required," continued Penalosa, without 
noticing the remark, " their Majesties' orders are that those 
who refuse to go with the Senor Captain when called upon 
shall be taken in charge by the justices and other officers of 
the peace of this district, and compelled to sail ; and who- 
ever shall refuse to furnish the Captain with the supplies and 
materials of which he stands in need shall be treated in like 
manner. And the more to relieve your Worship, Serior, of 
the embarrassment and difficulty of executing these com- 
mands, their Majesties have appointed my good friend and 
comrade the Senor de Cepada, who is also of their immediate 
household, to take command of the fortress of this loyal port 
of Palos, with strict injunction to assist the civil authorities 
in executing the royal decrees. 

"Your arduous labors being thus far lightened, worthy 
sirs," Peiialosa added sarcastically, turning from Diego 
Prieto to the other officials, " we may hope, 1 make so bold, 
that the owners of the vessels which the Senor Colon has 
chosen for his voyage shall be apprised forthwith by your 
Worships of the honor done them, and all haste be made 
in preparing them for sea. The Senor Captain will pay full 
prices for everything, whether ships or stores or men, so 
there is no good cause for refusing to serve him. But 
should resistance be attempted for other than good cause, 
why, then, Senors, loath as I would be to have to do it, my 
directions are most positive to hold your Worships' and 
your Worships' property responsible for any delay that may 
occur." 

The faces of the alcalde and his companions grew longer 



THE HEAVY HAND OF JUAN DE PENALOSA. 85 

and longer, as Peiialosa's lecture continued. When he 
ceased they stood speechless before him, too dismayed to 
answer a word. Their ships to be seized and turned over 
to Colon, despite all their elaborate excuses ! Themselves 
and their neighbors to be forced to go with him, whether 
they wanted or no ! A new commandant sent down to 
their fort to enforce these high-handed orders, and they to 
be arrested and their goods confiscated if any further delay 
ensued ! All this was a sad shock to the easy-going offi- 
cials, who had counted on wearing out Colon's patience by 
their persistent delays, and on finding some plausible excuse 
with which to amuse the Crown in the mean time. But there 
was no doubt about the reality of their present danger. 
There stood their Majesties' messenger, sent down expressly 
by the queen to put a stop to their shilly-shallying ; and in 
those days a monarch seldom let much time elapse between 
making a threat and carrying it into execution. 

The silence was broken by Martin Alonzo, addressing 
Diego Prieto. 

"Seiior Alcalde," he said, "I beg that your Worship will 
take note that I have engaged to find and equip two vessels 
for the Sehor Colon, and to go with him on this voyage with 
the crews that are necessary. There is thus much less for 
your Worships to do ; and if I can aid you further in finding 
what yet is wanted, I pray you to make it known to me." 

This announcement caused even more of a sensation 
among the authorities than the declaration of Penalosa ; for 
not only did it greatly simplify their labors, but it also 
showed them that there was more in this enterprise of the 
stranger captain's than any of them had fancied. They 
were well aware that the Pinzons were not in the habit of 
"working for the bishop," as they called anything done 
from mere sentiment ; and if the three brothers had agreed 
to go with Colon it was clear that something besides 
glory was coming from the voyage. They therefore crowded 
around Martin Alonzo, eager to know the reasons for his 
joining Colon ; but these he kept closely to himself. He 
and his brothers were going on the cruise, he said, and were 



86 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

contributing their property and urging their friends and rel- 
atives to ship with them. They knew what they knew ; and 
if others wanted to share in the profits, all they had to do 
was to join too. With this the gathering broke up ; Colon 
and his party going down to the port, and Diego Prieto and 
his associates remaining behind to talk the matter over and 
concert measures for at length complying with their sover- 
eigns' orders. 

Years afterward, when both Colon and Martin Alonzo 
were in their graves, the children of the latter claimed that 
had it not been for his assistance, Colon would never have 
discovered the new world, and this view has passed to some 
extent into history. What " might have been " is never 
easy of denial ; but for our part we are satisfied that with 
his million of maravedies to pay his way and the emphatic 
decrees of the Crown to support him, Colon would have 
• made his voyage if all the Pinzons in Spain had opposed his 
going. ^ Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that the 
co-operation of Martin Alonzo and his brothers was of the 
greatest value to Colon, and facilitated in every way the fit- 
ting out of the expedition. This alone, it seems to us, is 
cause enough for honoring them, without seeking to extol 
their merits at the cost of their leader's. 

Partly influenced, no doubt, by the action of the Pinzons, 
but still more by the knowledge of Peiialosa's mission, the 
owners of a third vessel consented, though with an ill grace, 
to charter her to Colon. The little squadron was not se- 
lected at hap- hazard, nor was it composed of inferior and 
dangerously small craft. In the choice of his ships and in 
all the other details of his equipment the commander acted 
with forethought and deliberation. Two of them, the 

1 " I hold it for certain," said one of tlie Royal Council, when ques- 
tioned in after years upon this point, " that if the Admiral Colon had 
not dared to make that voyage, and had not found the Indies, they would 
even yet be awaiting a discoverer." Dr. Maldonado was one of the 
councillors who opposed the project of Colon, and cannot be accused 
of partiality. His statement was a direct denial of the claim advanced 
by the Pinzons, and is to us conclusive. For the part actually taken 
by the Pinzon brothers, see Note G in the Appendix. 



THE HEAVY HAND OE JUAN DE PENALOSA. 8/ 

"Pinta" and "Nina," were stout coasting-vessels of liglit 
draught, of the kind he thought best adapted for exploring 
purposes ; the third, the " Santa Maria," was a heavier ship 
of greater size, which he chose to serve as a kind of floating 
fort and headquarters. In making his selection, as in many 
of his acts on this voyage, Colon was guided by his long ex- 
perience on many coasts, and especially by what he had 
learned by sailing with the Portuguese along the western 
shores of Africa. It detracts neither from his fame nor 
courage that, instead of venturing to cross an unknown sea 
in crazy skiffs, as some would have us think, he used his 
judgment and experience in choosing the vessels on which 
the safety of his crews and the success of his endeavor must 
necessarily depend. 

The month of July passed rapidly in the thousand and 
one duties connected with the outfit of such an expedition ; 
for, like a good and prudent sailor-man. Colon himself at- 
tended to everything which might affect the results of his 
voyage. The ships were careened on the river-bank near 
Palos, and cleaned, calked, and tallowed down. The rig- 
ging and sails were overhauled and strengthened, or renewed. 
Provisions, ammunition and supplies sufficient for a year's 
cruise away from any chance of replenishing were gathered 
together from the country round about as far as Seville. 
Pilots, ship- masters, and seamen were sought out by Colon 
or Martin Alonzo, and induced to ship for the cruise on the 
promise of good pay and the hope of a fortune. Some few 
men-at-arms, too, were chosen, for there would doubtless 
be blows exchanged before the fleet saw Spain again. A 
number of landsmen were needed as well ; calkers and 
riggers, carpenters and coopers, and such other artisans as 
might be wanted about the vessels or their stores on so long 
a voyage. Finally, there was the small detachment of civil 
aids, always assigned to a royal squadron to watch the oper- 
ations on their Majesties' behalf, — a secretary, notary, and 
treasurer, or comptroller. 

The coming and going of all this company, and the stir 
of their various occupations, turned the little seaport into a 



88 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN' SEA. 

busy town during the weeks of preparation. The excitement 
rose as the ships approached a state of readiness, and both 
incentives to go and appeals for holding back multiplied 
among the crews. Many of those who had engaged them- 
selves attempted to draw out at the last hour, and some of 
those who had declined would now be glad to ship on any 
terms. Colon himself caught some of the calkers leaving 
several of the seams in the ships open, so that they would 
spring a leak on reaching the sea and have to put back to 
port for repairs. Still others of his people took French 
leave and hid themselves away to avoid the departure, while 
yet a greater number watched religiously for the chance to 
follow so laudable an example. The difference between a 
grumete of Columbus's time and a modem Jack Tar was 
more in the name and clothes than in the character of the 
men. 

Working early and late, punishing the ill-disposed, and 
encouraging the feeble-hearted, Colon saw his little fleet 
approaching day by day nearer to completion. By the first 
of August he was able to announce to their Majesties that 
he had ready " three vessels very suitable for the intended 
service, well furnished with a great plenty of supplies of all 
kinds, and manned with a large force of sea-going folk." ^ 

1 See the opening sentences of his Diary. 



VIII. 
THE SEA-BREEZE OUTSIDE THE BAR. 

AUGUST is a warm month in the South of Spain, and 
the nights are short ; so it was no hardship for the 
sturdy sailor-folk and vine-dressers of Palos to be up and 
stirring long before daybreak on Friday, the 3d of that 
month, in the year of Our Lord 1492. Out in the stream 
of the river Tinto lay the " Santa Maria " and the two 
caravels, — the " Pinta " and the " Nina." Between the 
shore and the little fleet still plied a few small boats, al- 
though the crews had gone on board their several vessels 
the day before. All hands had confessed and been shriven 
of their sins, as was the custom of sea-faring men as well as 
soldiers in those days, — Colon to his devoted friend and 
helper, the superior of La Rabida ; the others to the curate 
of St. George's church in the village. On the banks were 
now gathered the inhabitants of the little town, together with 
many from Moguer, their farewells taken and wishes sped for 
a prosperous voyage and a quick return ; and among the 
crowd was many a tear-stained face and broken voice, for 
God and the Saints only knew whether those who sailed on 
yonder ships would ever see their native shores again. 

Almost up to the last hour, Garcia Fernandez had hoped 
he might accompany the bold and skilful man he had grown 
so to admire and revere, but it had proved impossible. 

" Now the Saints protect you, noble friend ! " he had said, 
as, throwing his arms about Colon, he gave him a hearty 
Spanish embrace. " I would give five years of my life could 



90 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

I but make this voyage with you. But, granted that I am 
alive when you return, naught in heaven or earth shall keep 
me from joining you when next you sail." 

" I would that you could go with us, Garcia," Colon re- 
plied ; '* and your promise shall not be forgotten when we 
again set out. If it please God, we shall be here again 
within the year."^ 

To old Juan de Cabezudo and the village priest. Fray 
Martin Sanchez, Colon had intrusted his son Diego, despite 
the lad's protests and entreaties to be allowed to accompany 
his father. The old sailor came up to bid farewell to the 
Captain, with a suspicious glitter in his half-closed eyes. 

" Have no fear for the boy, Master ! " he said ; " he shall 
get safe to your good lady in Cordova if Juan Rodriguez 
has to carry him in his arms. Sinner that I am," he ex- 
claimed in a sudden burst of regret, " that I should be left 
to tend the children when your Worship sails on so brave a 
cruise ! " And he turned away almost angry with Colon for 
his own fault in not having gone. 

Fray Antonio embraced his friend, the tears running down 
the faces of both. 

" God and His angels have you and all who go with you 
in their holy keeping, Son Cristoval ! " said the good priest, 
his voice shaking with emotion. " Bear you always in mind 
that those who love you are daily praying for your welfare, 
and counting the weary hours to your return." 

Colon was scarcely less moved. " I am the least of all 
His servants, dear friend," he answered. " In His hands 
we are, and He shall not fail us." 

The light mists of early morning were still hanging over 
the water, as those on shore saw the dim sails slowly hoisted 
on the shadowy vessels out in the channel, and heard the 
creaking of the blocks as the sailors hauled them home. 
Down the river was still gently blowing the cool terrai, the 
wind which draws by night from the mountains toward the 

1 It has often been asserted that the young physician sailed with 
Columbus on this voyage ; but the Garcia Fernandez who shipped on 
the " Pinta " as steward was another and much older man. 



THE SEA-BREEZE OUTSIDE THE BAR. 9 1 

sea. Aided by this and the ebb tide, the ships gathered 
way, and slowly stood down stream toward the broad estuary 
where the Odiel joins the Tinto a league below the town. 
As they widened the distance between them and those who 
were left behind, the crowd melted away and turned back 
to the village church, once more to offer their prayers and 
make their vows for the safety of those who had gone. 

It was broad daylight when the fleet reached the Saltes 
bar, over which lay the course to the wide Atlantic. The 
land-breeze had fallen as the sun rose higher, and now at 
eight o'clock was barely giving them steerage-way. Out 
beyond the bar the breeze was coming in from the open sea, 
blowing fresh and strong from that wondrous western ocean. 
As the ships plunged through the rollers on the shallower 
bar, the sails filled to the steady gale, and the three bows 
were headed due south, to clear the Spanish coast and then 
lay direct for the distant Canaries. 

" In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ," their commander 
had undertaken his desperate adventure ; and as the flat 
shores of Andalusia drifted from his sight, even his stout 
heart must have felt that more than mortal skill and courage 
would be sorely wanted before he saw their level beaches 
again. 

We know already that Colon's studies had led him to 
believe that the shortest route to the mainland of Asia and 
the islands lying to the east of it was to be found by sailing 
due west from the Canaries, and it was for this reason that 
he had laid his course for that group on leaving the mouth 
of the Tinto. Moreover these islands formed the frontier 
possessions of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean, and by touching 
at them on his voyage, he would be able to replenish his 
stock of water and provisions, and to some degree break 
the dread which so many of his sailors had of sailing away 
into the remote west. The islands had not then been so 
long discovered that a voyage to them was as yet thought 
lightly of. Those of his people who had not before ven- 
tured so far out on the Atlantic would, he hoped, take heart 
and lose some of their fears on hearing their own tongue 



92 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

spoken, and seeing the world to be so much the same in 
that distant archipelago which they had been accustomed 
to regard as the very confines of the earth. 

Colon was too experienced a commander not to realize 
the possibilities of mutiny and disorder among the motley 
assemblage which manned his squadron, once they were 
finally cut off from that part of the world with which they 
were familiar. Too large a proportion of his crews had 
shipped with him in a half-hearted way, — either over- 
persuaded by the Pinzons, or in dread of being pressed into 
the service by Pehalosa, — for him to have any great confi- 
dence in their fidelity and perseverance. With this in view, 
he had arranged with Martin Alonzo to divide up the doubt- 
ful men in such manner that they would all be under a 
strong control. He himself commanded the " Santa Maria," 
on which were chiefly placed men from Palos itself, a 
■grumbling and discontented lot in large part. With him also 
sailed the officers of the Crown, attached to every royal 
expedition, whom he had selected from those of his own 
acquaintance who had volunteered to accompany him. A 
nephew of his faithful friend the superior of La Rabida, 
Rodrigo de Escovedo, by name, filled the office of royal 
notary, and was charged with the duty of keeping for their 
Majesties' inspection a formal record of all the incidents of 
the voyage. Diego de Arana, a brother of the lady whom 
Colon considered and treated as his second wife,^ served 
as alguacil, or justice, of the fleet. Rodrigo Sanchez, of 
Segovia, in whom he had much confidence, was commis- 
sioner, or inspector-general, for the Crown ; and Pedro de 
Gutierrez, one of the queen's own household ofificers, acted 
as a sort of general aide. With these to assist him and lend 
him countenance. Colon was satisfied that he could restrain 
any attempt at insubordination on his own ship. In com- 
mand of the " Pinta " he had placed Martin Alonzo, with his 

^ Colon in at least one letter refers to Dona Beatriz as his " wife" 
In his will, however, he leaves her a legacy under her maiden name, 
adding, " And this I do for the discharge of my conscience. The 
reason therefor it is not right to mention here." 



THE SEA-BREEZE OUTSIDE THE BAR. 93 

brother Francisco, as lieutenant, having grave reasons for 
doubting not only the loyalty of many of her crew, but being 
still more suspicious of her owners, — two turbulent fellows 
named Rascon and Quintero, who sailed on her as well. 
Vicente Yailez Pinzon was captain of the " Niiia ; " and it is 
a pleasure to note that from first to last of the long and 
adventurous voyage this "little girl," as the name signifies, 
gave Colon neither anxiety nor trouble, and in the hour of 
his greatest need was the means of saving him and all 
the company on the flagship. In the crews were sailors 
from all the maritime districts of Spain, besides Genoese 
and Frenchmen, Basques and Portuguese, men from the 
Balearic Islands, a converted Jew, one Englishman, and a 
single native of the Emerald Isle, — as ill-assorted a com- 
pany as ever manned a modern man-of-war. 

The fresh breeze held good all day, and by sundown 
Colon was clear of the great bay which lies between Cape 
St. Vincent and Gibraltar. Signalling his two companions, 
he changed his course to southwest, and stood straight for 
the Canaries. Saturday and Sunday found the fleet holding 
steadily on its way, and making a regular five or six miles 
an hour. To its leader the fair weather and rapid progress 
were an earnest of the success he never doubted would be 
his ; and as the western breeze hummed through the rigging, 
and his Httle ship rose and fell with the long Atlantic swell, 
his mind was filled with thoughts and speculations about the 
ocean which lay between him and the lands he so surely 
believed lay behind the quivering horizon. There was no 
lack of work, however, either for him or his crews on these 
first days upon salt-water, in getting ship and cargo in 
proper shape for the service that was ahead ; and Colon was 
a man to see that both his own and his heutenants' vessels 
were put in right condition. So far all was going well, and 
he encouraged his officers to dispel, by all means in their 
power, the foolish dread and doubt which existed in the 
minds of so many of the men. 

On Monday the wind freshened, and the day broke over 
a gray and boisterous waste of waters. As Colon watched 



94 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN- SEA. 

with some anxiety from the high poop-deck of the " Santa 
Maria " the behavior of his two smaller vessels, he saw the 
" Pinta " come up into the wind and then fall off, a rolling 
hulk, in the trough of the sea. Steering for her, he hailed 
Martin Alonzo and asked what was amiss. The steering- 
gear had given way and the rudder been partially unshipped 
by the violence of the waves, the " Pinta's " captain replied. 

" Have no fear for us, your Worship," Pinzon cheerily 
added, knowing well the thought that was in his comman- 
der's mind ; " we can rig up a makeshift to carry us into 
port, and the ' Pinta ' shall not see Palos until our voyage 
is done." 

The heavy seas prevented Colon from lending any aid to 
his companion ; but he stood by until the skilful master of 
the disabled vessel had improvised a substitute for the 
damaged rudder. 

** 'Tis well Martin Alonzo is on board the ship," Colon 
said to his aides, as they watched the smaller craft tossing 
and pitching a cable's length away. " I greatly doubt if 
her rascally owners did not aid the waves in their work of 
wrecking the rudder there. They are mutinous dogs at 
best, and gave me many a ruffle ere we sailed. Had 
they their own way, I warrant, they would find in this early 
mischance a good excuse for putting back to Spain." 

Martin Alonzo was a man fruitful in resource, however, 
and of an iron will, and before the day was old had sig- 
nalled the Captain that all was well ; and the fleet pursued 
its way, greatly to the chagrin of the worthy Rascon and 
Quintero and such of the crews as had hoped the "acci- 
dent " might lead to a return to Palos for repairs — and 
desertion. 

The next day, Tuesdr^, the temporary steering apparatus 
gave way again on the "Pinta," and the squadron had to 
heave to a second time and wait until it was repaired. These 
delays and the necessity of sailing cautiously on account 
of the weakness of the rude arrangement contrived by Mar- 
tin Alonzo, much impaired the progress of the fleet, and 
brought it down to a scant three miles an hour. Colon 



THE SEA-BREEZE OUTSIDE THE BAR. 95 

fretted under the detention, and determined that on reach- 
ing the Canaries he would endeavor to get another vessel 
to take the " Pinta's " place. This decision was still further 
confirmed on the next morning, when Martin Alonzo an- 
nounced that his ship had sprung a leak over night, in addi- 
tion to her previous disaster. The report of this new mishap 
also served to increase the apprehensions of the disaffected 
among the three crews, which were not relieved by a dis- 
pute arising among the pilots as to their precise where- 
abouts in that vast expanse of ocean. Fearful of leaving 
the beaten track, and haunted by dread of what might be 
encountered at every league of unvisited water, the sailors 
now began to curse the day they started on such a mad- 
man's cruise. But Colon, with his more perfect knowledge 
of navigation and more accurate observation, satisfied the 
pilots that their course was still a right one, and the fears of 
the ignorant men in part subsided. 

The following Sunday, the 12th of August, proved the 
correctness of his calculations, and greatly served to revive 
confidence in their leader among the fickle seamen ; for they 
came within sight of the Peak of Teneriffe and the prin- 
cipal island of the Archipelago, called for distinction the 
Great Canary. The lofty summit of Teneriffe was at that 
time an active crater ; and Colon's log-book notes that as 
they approached it they saw " a great flame issuing from 
the rnountam on the island, which is excessively high, in 
a marvellous manner." Such of his mariners as had not 
seen a burning mountain before were much impressed by 
the sight of this huge volume of fire and smoke rising ap- 
parently from out of the sea ; but their shipmates who had 
seen ^tna and Stromboli when sailing in the Mediterranean 
laughed at them for simpletons, and made merry over their 
fears. Leaving Martin Alonzo at anchor at the larger island, 
since the " Pinta " could not safely navigate without repairs, 
Colon continued on to the neighboring island of Gomera 
in search of the vessel he wanted to supply her place. 
Failing to find such an one, he detailed a few men to re- 
main behind and collect a store of fresh provisions and fire- 



96 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

wood, while he sailed back at once to Martin Alonzo. On 
joining him all hands set to work to careen the " Pinta " on 
the beach and put her in thorough condition for the hard 
work ahead. Taught by the recent mishaps to mistrust her 
owners, Colon and the Pinzons personally superintended the 
workmen engaged in calking the ship and replacing the 
rudder. Then, to improve her sailing qualities, they changed 
her rig from the lateen-sails of the Spanish coasting-vessels 
to the square sails better adapted for deep-sea voyages. All 
this was done, the log-book tells us, only " at the expense of 
great labor and efforts on the part of the commander, of 
Martin Alonzo, and all the others ; " but when it was com- 
pleted Colon felt repaid for the delay, for the " Pinta " proved 
thereafter the best sailer of the three. 

It was not until the third Sunday, September 2, that this 
overhauling was completed and the fleet was able to make 
for Gomera, where was then the chief port of the islands. 
Here, while the ships were taking in fresh water and sup- 
plies, many of the men were necessarily on shore, and from 
the inhabitants they heard repeated accounts of the land 
which had been seen on unusually clear days lying afar in 
the west. No one had as yet been able to discover it by 
sailing toward it, it was true ; but none the less did the 
residents of Gomera and all who had been in those waters 
believe firmly in its existence. To Colon the tale was, as 
we know, no novelty, and he was satisfied that even if such 
a land did in reality exist, it would be found to be only 
some unvisited island ; but the story had a good effect upon 
his sailors, for it led them to look upon the ocean as less 
likely to be so dreadful a wilderness as it was represented, 
and to hope to find land from time to time, as they sailed 
away from the world they knew. 

On the third day after reaching Gomera, news was brought 
to Colon which caused him to complete hastily his fitting out 
and get under way without further delay. A caravel ar- 
rived from the adjoining island of Ferro, the westernmost 
of the Canary group, lying some seventy miles from where 
he was at anchor, and reported that three Portuguese ves- 



THE SEA-BREEZE OUTSIDE THE BAR. 97 

sels were cruising in that vicinity without any apparent 
motive. Spain and Portugal were at complete peace, and 
there was nothing to attract a foreign squadron to those 
shores ; so the islanders who brought the news were at a loss 
to account for the presence of the strangers. Colon, however, 
inspired by his deep-grounded distrust of all that was Por- 
tuguese, was quick to fathom the object of this new arrival, 
and realized that it was full of menace for himself and his 
expedition. 

" Look you, Seiior Rodrigo," he said to the inspector, 
as soon as he heard the report confirmed, " had these ships 
of the Portuguese king come frankly into port either here 
or at Ferro, we might have naught to fear, since they would 
assuredly be bound to or coming from the settlements of 
that Crown on the Guinea coasts. But rince they are lying 
off the westernmost of these islands and in the very track 
we should pursue, I cannot doubt that they come to arrest 
our endeavor and take us prisoners to Lisbon. His Majesty 
of Portugal has ever been jealous of our gracious sovereign's 
success at sea, and on the knowledge of our voyage and 
our intent to touch these islands has doubtless despatched 
these ships to intercept us. This, too, we owe to the owners 
of the ' Pinta,' " he added with bitterness. 

His officers saw no reason to question the correctness 
of this view, for both from the Court and from Palos the 
Portuguese king might have learned the destination of the 
ships during the time they were fitting out, and had ample 
leisure to despatch a fleet for their capture, did he so desire. 
There was but one opinion among Colon's lieutenants, and 
that was that sail should be made at once and the doubtful 
cruisers evaded at all costs. Their leader, as was his wont, 
took the matter calmly, and looked confidently for Divine 
Providence to deliver him in safety from the threatened 
catastrophe ; but Martin Alonzo was more vehement in his 
expressions. 

"May God forbid, Seiior Colon," he said with emphasis, 
" that the fleet of our great monarchs should turn back at 
the bidding of any one ! We have left our homes to find 

7 



98 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAAr SEA. 

these new lands of Asia, and with His help we shall do it. 
Let us steer our course, Senor, and hold our own against all 
who would check us." 

"Well said, Seiior Martin," Colon replied; "and if we 
keep well together, and sail to the south of Ferro, the 
Portuguese captain shall have but sorry news to take to his 
king when next he sees the Tagus." 

At daybreak on the following morning, the 6th of Septem- 
ber, Colon left Gomera and stood westward. His anxieties 
were far from over, though, for all that day and the next and 
the third day, until after midnight, they drifted in a dead 
calm between that island and Teneriffe, consoled only by 
the reflection that where they could make no progress their 
envious rivals could make none. Before dawn on the 8th, 
a strong breeze set in from the northwest ; and Colon laid 
his course due west, according to his unvarying intention to 
follow the parallel of the Canary Islands in his voyage. As 
the stately peak sank behind the horizon astern of them, the 
fears of the more timid among the crews revived, and they 
were inclined to bemoan their cruel fate in being thus 
compelled to plunge into the terrors and mysteries of that 
dreaded western sea ; but the stouter hearts and clearer 
heads among them still laughed down their complaints, and 
looked forward with eagerness to the wealth and adventures 
in store. 

These men who sailed with Columbus were not the fools 
and tearful cowards they have sometimes been painted. 
Like the men of all ages, they were no better than the times 
they lived in, and theirs were the days of ignorance and of 
superstition in all that related to the unknown. When the 
prows of their ships pointed toward the west from Gomera, 
not only were they leaving astern their own familiar shores 
of Europe, but also those of Africa and the Cape Verde 
Islands, of Madeira, the Canaries, and Azores, — all that 
they had ever heard of as being the very farthest verge of 
the world they lived in. Columbus himself had never been 
able to convince many of the so-called wise men of his time 
that the earth was round, and that by pursuing a given course 



THE SEA-BREEZE OUTSIDE THE BAR. 99 

it might be encircled.^ What wonder, then, that ignorant 
seamen from the httle creeks and bays of Southern Spain — 
and much more the landsmen, who formed so large a part 
of the company — should fear lest some day, by going too 
rashly westward, they should come to the end of all things 
and fall over into Space ? Their credulity had been fed on 
wild tales of bottomless whirlpools, of mighty monsters who 
made but a mouthful of ships and men, and of blazing zones 
where vessels and crews were burned to coals by the heat of 
the too close sun. Had we been there, good reader, no doubt 
our hearts would have sunk as low as the lowest, when the 
smoky pennant of Teneriffe was lost to sight. As our tale 
proceeds, we shall find these same men, though at times 
grumbling and quarrelsome, as becomes all sailors, doing 
many a deed of daring and high courage, and showing 
themselves to be in this as well true sons of the sea ; whose 
heads were none the less cool, nor their hands the less 
ready, when face to face with imminent danger, because their 
tongues were hung somewhat slack, and they saw according 
to their lights. 

Meanwhile the Httle fleet was running before a good stiff 
breeze, and, passing within sight of the highlands of Ferro, 
soon left the King of Portugal's cruisers hull down below the 
eastern horizon. 

1 In later years he argued that it was pear-shaped rather than round- 




IX. 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. 



FOR exactly four weeks to the day, the fleet held its way 
due west, following persistently the same parallel of 
latitude. The result completely justified Colon's expecta- 
tions that he should thereby find the safest and best course, 
for during all that time they enjoyed fair weather and 
made steady progress. Once or twice, as we shall see, they 
were indeed driven slightly off their track, but never for 
more than a few hours ; and in that perservering determina- 
tion to follow out what he believed to be the true route, no 
less than in the amazing confirmation of his careful compu- 
tations later on, we may discern both the evidence of the 
great navigator's genius and the cause of his success. 

At the outset, on losing sight of Ferro, a heavy-head sea 
assailed the little squadron, whose round and tubby bows 
offered too ample a surface to any opposing waves ; but 
this difficulty did not last long. On the second day there 
was a slight return of disaffection among the discontented 
portion of the crews. Although strictly warned to keep the 
ship's head constantly to the west, the steersmen of the 
Captain's vessel repeatedly brought her around to a north- 
west course, and the other two vessels naturally followed 
the lead thus given them. The perversity with which this 
was done, despite his reiterated commands, satisfied Colon 
that either the men were anxious to give the fleet a greater 
northing, in accordance with the general belief that the 
farther north they sailed the farther they would be from the 
terrors they had heard of, or else that they wished to get a 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. lOI 

glimpse, if possible, of the famous land of which they had 
been told when in Gomera. Wearied with this continued 
disobedience, and conscious of the danger of any sign of 
weakness, Colon rated the guilty men soundly for their 
fault. 

" Mark you, my men ! " he said, going up to them and 
speaking with sternness ; " our course lies west and ever 
west, and thither shall we sail. See you to it that we leave 
it not again without my orders. I care for no more of this 
wandering about, and on your shoulders shall fall the penalty 
if I am not heeded now." 

This trick of his sailors gave Colon renewed uneasiness, 
and led him to anticipate a frequent repetition of their 
disaffection in one way or another. The better to avoid 
this, as far as possible, he resolved to make the voyage seem 
shorter than it really was. Thus each day, on calculating 
the previous day's run, he noted privately the real distance ; 
but he announced to his pilots and crew a lesser one. In 
the twenty-four hours, ending at midnight of the 9th, they 
sailed in reality seventy leagues ; but Colon gave out that 
they had made forty- eight only. His own expectation was, 
as we have seen, that he should find land about seven hun - 
dred and fifty leagues west of the Canaries, and this he had 
declared without reserve as his conviction , but as this was 
based on his calculations alone, — since no one really knew 
as yet whether there was any other side to the world or not, 
— he provided like a prudent man for being mistaken, and, 
to prevent his followers from becoming too soon discouraged 
at a long voyage, led them to suppose it was much shorter 
than in fact it was. In these days of corrected observations 
and patent logs such a stratagem seems puerile ; but when 
the working out of a ship's position was a problem of the 
highest art, it was an easier matter. As the pilots of the 
three ships never agreed in their own calculations, and all 
admitted him to be head and shoulders their superior in the 
science of navigation. Colon had no difficulty in persuading 
them of the accuracy of his account. This practice stood 
him in good stead later on ; and, happily for all, when the 



102 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

discrepancy between his figures as proclaimed and those of 
his pilots grew to be suspiciously wide, he fell upon land, and 
no further management was necessary. 

On the fourth day out from Ferro, the "Santa Maria" 
passed close to a large mast, apparently the wreckage of a ship 
of considerable burthen. The sailors tried to seize it, but 
failed in the effort ; and the water-logged piece of timber 
bobbed gradually out of sight in their wake. Even to this 
day, when the Atlantic Ocean is little more than a lane for 
shipping in quiet seasons, the sight of a bit of broken spar 
will stir some flicker of superstitious sentiment in the mind 
of many a sailor, and the more especially if he be from the 
South of Europe. To the mariners who lined the bulwarks 
of Colon's flagship this lonely flotsam, as it drifted uneasily 
on that unknown sea, spoke loudly of disaster and destruc- 
tion to those who ventured farther on. The grumblers had 
a new text to preach from ; and the faint-hearted a fresh 
excuse for their alarm, which all the jeers of their more 
courageous shipmates, who saw in the mast only a broken 
log, were unable to allay. 

Two days later this superstitious fear found new food to 
fatten on ; for it was whispered through the ship that the 
needle no longer pointed north. This was so direct a con- 
firmation of all that they had heard of the end of the earth 
lying in those quarters and of the awful chaos and darkness 
lying beyond, that even the bolder seamen began to question 
the wisdom of going any farther. They had sailed now six 
hundred miles out into the western sea, and found no land ; 
and if they were once to lose the guidance of the compass, 
what hope remained of their ever repassing in safety the 
trackless waste that already stretched between them and 
home ? As if to serve for an additional warning, sent direct 
by Heaven itself, on the second night after this discovery, 
while it yet formed the absorbing staple of discussion aboard 
the " Santa Maria," as the crew were grouped about the deck 
talking in low tones of the dread which filled their minds, 
or brooding sullenly over the fate which might await them, 
a huge meteor shot athwart the sky, and plunged with vast 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. IO3 

confusion into the sea not far away. Terrified by a sight 
which even on land was looked upon as a portent of evil and 
distress, the awe-struck sailors now noticed that the long 
trail of colored fire left by the blazing mass did not disappear 
at once, as they were wont to see it, but hung wavering and 
uncertain on the dark curtain of the night, — a ghostly and 
uncanny sign full of sinister meaning. Such is often the 
manner of meteoric wakes in the latitudes where now the 
fleet was sailing ; but it was new to Colon's men, and only 
served to cast their minds into a deeper gloom. What more 
was wanting, they urged, to prove the folly of farther prog- 
ress? Had not God Himself lighted that warning beacon 
which faded so reluctantly from their anxious sight? 

Their commander was keenly aware of this growing dis- 
content among his people, and thought long and deeply 
over a means for overcoming it. To him the fluctuation of 
the needle — now familiar to every schoolboy as the mag- 
netic variation — was as unknown and mysterious as to any 
of his crew ; for this was the first time he had observed the 
strange phenomenon ^ Discarding the childish superstitions 
of his companions, he sought its explanation in natural 
causes, being an acute and patient investigator ; and if the 
reason he finally gave his men was not absolutely correct, it 
served to satisfy them, and was at least as plausible as most 
theories which have since been advanced. Closely watching 
the compass day and night, and comparing its fluctuations 
with the polar star, he found that the variation was greatest at 
night ; while in the morning the needle pointed in a true line 
with the star. He explained to his pilots and crew, therefore, 
that the irregularity was due to no change on the part of the 
compass, but to the fact that the star itself described a tiny 
circle in the twenty-four hours, the needle thus pointing a 
little away from it at one hour while at another it was true. 
So specious was this exposition that it not only allayed the 

* Columbus was not the discoverer of the magnetic variation, as 
Mr. Irving considered ; basing his supposition on Navarrete's assertion. 
The phenomenon had been observed and commented on by several 
earlier geographers. 



104 ^V/TN THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

sailors' fears of a catastrophe from this cause, but strength- 
ened their confidence in their captain's sagacity and pro- 
fessional skill. Both this reasoning of Colon and his act 
in keeping a double reckoning have been of late years 
unsparingly criticised as unworthy and paltry deceptions, in- 
dicative alike of a lack of principle and courage ; but we fail 
to see the justice of such censure. Colon clearly believed 
the exactness of the conclusion he adopted regarding the 
needle ; for he maintained it in later years by more elabo- 
rate arguments. If he was not as wise as we are in this 
particular, no doubt our grandchildren shall say as much 
of us in other respects. As to the double reckoning, he 
was aware that the distance he had to sail was at least prob- 
lematical, and knew that his men would seize upon the first 
excuse to turn back should land not be found somewhere 
near where his charts established it. In his own words, 
■"the mariners were accustomed every day to see land, and 
on their longest voyages never sailed two hundred leagues 
without seeing it." His object was not deception, but pre- 
caution ; and we cannot find any trace of moral obliquity in 
the transaction. On the contrary, to our mind, in quieting 
the seamen's dread lest their compasses had played them 
false, and in providing for the contingencies of a doubtful 
future as to the distance to be run, Colon crossed in safety 
his frailest bridge ; for what greater fear could possess the 
ignorant 'sailofs on such a voyage than that both chart and 
compass were faithless guides? 

Nature herself came now to his rescue, and rebuked the 
timid apprehensions of his crews with signs of hopefulness 
so plain that even the landsmen on board could read the 
message. Over the " Niiia " had flown two birds which the 
sailors recognized as living on shore; and on the i6th of 
September, the ninth day of their westward sailing, the shijis 
began to pass those great patches of floating weed which 
to this day attract attention in the southern seas when 
met with for the first time. So fresh and green were these 
fields of ocean herbage that Colon himself concluded that 
they must have been swept off the rocks of some not distant 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. IO5 

island only very recently, and he was urged by his pilots to 
change his course, and search for it in the direction whence 
the weed came ; but this he declined to do. 

" It is not an island that we are seeking," he answered to 
their representations, " but the mainland of Cathay ; and I 
know we have not gone far enough as yet to reach it. That 
there are many islands to the eastward of Asia I am well 
assured, and some of these may now be near. 'T is folly 
to seek them, however, when we shall so soon reach the 
continent itself. Let them stand for the present ; on our 
return we can visit them, if so God pleases." 

Even the grumblers were contented with his argument, 
for they had little to complain of just then. The exquisite 
softness of the tropical air, the steady flow of a favoring 
breeze, and the perfect beauty of the mornings and even- 
ings reminded even the rough sailors of the loveliest season 
in distant Andalusia. The sea was as smooth, they said, as 
the bosom of the Guadalquivir ; and to their fanciful taste 
the very water of the ocean was less salt than that they were 
familiar with. One day they hauled on board some floating 
weeds, which in their eyes were of the kind that grew only 
in the fresh water of rivers, and tangled in the mass they 
found a living crab, which they gave their captain, — per- 
haps as a peace-offering. Around their ships they saw play- 
ing fish of the sort which they had known at home ; and the 
" Niiia's " men captured a tunny-fish, — a kind which many 
a man on board had caught by the boat-load in the fishing- 
grounds off Cadiz. The crews were quickly filled with life 
and hope, every fear forgotten as rapidly as it had come ; 
and each ship tried to pass the others in keen rivalry as to 
which should first catch sight of land. Where two short 
days before all had been gloom and despondency, there was 
now nothing but eagerness and content. Encouraged by the 
spirit of his men, and confirmed in his faith in the correct- 
ness of his course by the increasing mildness of the climate 
and the favorable signs which multiplied on all sides. Colon 
felt assured that he was indeed approaching the tropical 
seas of Asia. 



I06 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

" This is like your month of April in the South of Spain, 
Seiior Rodrigo," he remarked to the inspector, as they 
looked out over the densely blue sea on one of those per- 
fect evenings ; " we only lack the nightingales to make us 
feel in Seville. Please God that all these happy signs fail 
not, and may He bring us soon to land." 

Colon had given strict commands that under all circum- 
stances the ships should keep together, — an order easy of 
accomplishment in that summer sea. But on the i8th of 
the month the " Pinta" crowded all sail, and kept far ahead of 
the two other vessels until nightfall. When she rejoined them 
Martin Alonzo brought her up close to the "Santa Maria," 
and shouted to Colon that a great flock of birds had passed 
overhead in the morning, and he had felt so sure that land 
would be found before dark that he had forged ahead. Queen 
Isabella, at Colon's personal request, had offered a standing 
reward consisting of an annual pension of ten thousand 
maravedies for life to whomever should first discover land, 
and the temptation was great to keep in advance ; but the 
Captain insisted on his orders being obeyed. He himself 
had seen that day a fog-bank to the north which he thought 
hung over land, but he would not change his direction by a 
single point. 

" Keep strictly to the course, Senor Martin," he answered 
to the " Pinta's " hail. " If we spend our time in beating 
about after every sign of dry land we see, we shall never 
reach our goal." 

The very next day two pelicans alighted on the " Santa 
Maria," — genuine shore birds, if any are, — and a it'fi driz- 
zling showers fell without any storm of wind. These were 
considered to be almost certain indications of the near 
proximity of land, but still Colon would listen to no talk of 
varying from his westward course. The islands could wait, he 
repeated over and over again. What he wanted was the con- 
tinent of Asia ; and that lay directly ahead of them, neither 
to the right hand nor to the left. To compare the pilot's 
calculations of the distance so far made, he hailed the two 
other ships and asked their logs, Cristoval Garcia, pilot of 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. IO7 

the " Pinta," found that they had come four hundred and 
twenty leagues from Ferro ; Pero Alonzo Nino, of the " Santa 
Maria " reported four hundred and forty-seven ; while Sancho 
Ruiz of the " Nina " thought they had sailed no more than four 
hundred leagues. Colon noted these all down and kept his 
own counsel, relying on the wide difference in their several 
statements to quiet any new apprehension that might arise 
among the men. They now fell in with a succession of 
calms and light variable winds which threw them a little 
toward the northwest, and did not greatly advance their pas- 
sage. Still the birds were coming on board during the day 
and flying off, as night approached, toward the southwest, 
giving clear token that a resting-place of some kind could 
not be far distant. Among them were three little land-birds 
which perched in the rigging and sang merrily until sunset, 
following then in the wake of their larger fellows ; and this 
was thought to be the best of omens. The surface of the sea, 
too, was now covered with so thick a carpeting of the weed 
they had met before, that it seemed like a vast meadow 
stretching about them as far as the eye could reach, and was 
as green and smooth as one. A great whale came slowly roll- 
ing and spouting toward the ships, forcing his clumsy way 
through the dense vegetation, as though to examine what 
strange manner of monsters these might be which were 
invading his domain ; and the seamen recalled that the whales 
they were used to chase in Europe were found not far from 
shore. All these spoke of a speedy ending to their tedious 
journey ; but, with crass perverseness, the inconsistent and 
unreasonable among the crews were led, by the very abun- 
dance of such hopeful signs and the long succession of per- 
fect weather they were enjoying, to renew their growling and 
fault-finding. They noted that the wind had held steadily 
favorable to their westerly course until now, when they 
seemed to be approaching a region of calms. All the old 
women's yarns about ships and their companies floating for- 
ever and a day in a region of oily stagnation were accord- 
ingly revived. Constantly and ceaselessly, by day and by 
night, the strong easterly breezes had wafted them into this 



lOS WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

remote and unknown ocean. Now the winds were failing 
them, and more and more the fleet was becoming becahned. 
With no wind to sail with, how should they ever get farther 
to the west ? And with nothing but head winds to the east- 
ward, how should they ever make their way back over that 
immense expanse to the port from which they sailed ? The 
least their leader could do, they urged, was to shift his course 
somewhat, and endeavor, by drawing out of that region of 
mockery and delusion, to reach the land which apparently 
lay thereabout. If it should prove to be only an island, it 
would be better than flying in the face of Providence by 
engulfing themselves farther and farther in that waveless sea. 

Colon saw in this new outbreak of discontent a real and 
imminent peril. He was not much more than half-way 
across the distance that lay between the Canaries and Asia, 
according to his estimates ; and if his men grew mutinous 
both at the wonders and the beauties of Nature, as they 
seemed inclined to do, he feared they might turn upon him, 
and either compel him to put about and return to Spain, 
or at least alter his course and go on an idle search for 
their fencied islands. In either of these events his grand 
project would be ruined and his hopes turned into bitter 
failure. 

At this juncture again that good fortune which attended 
him so faithfully upon this first voyage, and in which he 
devoutly saw the ever-present hand of the Almighty, came to 
his aid and relieved him from the threatened danger. On the 
2 2d of the month a fresh breeze sprang up from the south- 
west, and drove them out of their course toward the north. 
With such a wind the ships could sail for home when it was 
necessary, and the murmurings on this score died away. 
" Greatly did I need this head wind," Colon wrote in his 
log, his mind evidently relieved from a heavy strain, " be- 
cause my people were growing very mutinous, as they 
believed no wind ever blew in these seas which would take 
them back to Spain." Only the next day the remaining 
ground of their complaint was swept away ; for although the 
sea had only been ruffled by the recent breeze and soon 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. IO9 

settled down into its habitual quiet, toward afternoon a 
heavy swell set in, apparently without the aid of any wind, 
and tossed the ships about as if to take revenge on the 
complainings of their crews. " Never since the day when 
Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt were 
waves so welcome," Colon added gratefully in his journal ; 
and he was as much rejoiced as his mariners were discom- 
fited. To them it seemed little less than a miracle that so 
great a sea should suddenly arise in calm weather, without 
any sign of a corresponding wind ; but their Captain knew 
that it came from some heavy gale farther off in the ocean, 
though this he was careful not to explain at the moment. 

Throughout the whole of this memorable voyage we find 
no indication that at any time Colon feared even for a 
moment for his own safety ; nor are we disposed to agree 
with those who hold that his life was in constant peril 
from the violence of his crew. That his men were, in 
large part, a turbulent and ill-conditioned set, there is no 
doubt ; but this is easily understood when we recall that 
many of them had come with him against their will, that 
they were traversing a wholly unknown and mysterious ocean 
which all their lives they had been led to believe was filled 
with dark and terrible dangers, and that as the weeks passed 
without their seeing land their hopes of ever finding it grew 
fainter and fainter and were replaced by fears lest they 
should never see their homes again. The mere question of 
food and water was enough to cause them to dread an in- 
definite continuance of their strange expedition. Where 
were they to replenish their stores if no land appeared? 
^^'hat was to prevent months and months from passing over 
their heads while their stock of supplies sank lower and 
lower? And what would happen if they really lay becalmed, 
or were driven hither and thither over the face of that limit- 
less sea? Shut up together on a small ship, with little else 
to do than talk over their grievances and find fault, as sailors 
will, with their commander, we can readily understand that 
a spirit of discontent and insubordination would spring up 
and strengthen on very little provocation. But from this to 



HO WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

open mutiny and defiance there was a wide gulf to cross, 
and the quickness with which their gmmbhngs were fol- 
lowed by elation at every new sign of hope and expectation 
of reaching shore proves, we thnik, that there was no deep- 
laid scheme to harm their leader or put an end to his plans 
by outrage. On one occasion, some three weeks later, we 
shall indeed find his safety threatened by some few of his 
men ; but we do not believe that even then he was in immi- 
nent danger, and nothing in his own writings gives color to 
such a theory. The only dread he ever expresses is lest he 
might be compelled to change his course to humor his men, 
and thus miss the goal he had in view. 

On the 25 th of September the fleet was again becalmed 
for the greater part of the day, so that the men threw them- 
selves overboard and swam about the ships, playing and 
larking as seamen will. Colon brought the " Santa Maria " 
alongside the " Pinta," and held a consultation with Martin 
Alonzo regarding their prospect of soon reaching the Asiatic 
coast. At Pinzon's request he had, three days before, sent 
to him the selfsame map which he had shown to Fray An- 
tonio and Garcia Fernandez at the convent of La Rabida 
on that summer evening in the past year, and now he wished 
to know the results of Martin Alonzo's study of its contents. 
According to his own record. Colon believed that they had 
come more than six hundred leagues from the Canaries ; and 
on this map he had, as we already know, laid down certain 
of the eastern islands as lying about in that vicinity. Keep- 
ing this record to himself, he now asked his lieutenant's 
opinion of their situation, knowing his skill and judgment as 
a navigator and having confidence in his sincerity. 

" It seems to me, Seiior Captain," Pinzon replied to his 
questions, " that we cannot now be far from the islands 
your Worship has laid down on this map. Our course has 
held good now for over five hundred leagues due west ; and 
though this is not enough to bring us yet to the great island 
of Cipango here drawn, and much less to the mainland of 
Asia itself, it may well be that all the tokens of land we 
have met with in these later days shall point to the neigh- 



IN THE PATH OF THE SUN. Ill 

borhood of the lesser ones your Worship has painted in to 
the east of that country." 

" There are we in accord, Senor Martin," Colon answered, 
" and I am content to find that you feel so assured. The 
lesser islands I entered on the chart are not laid down pre- 
cisely, for we know not their distances from Cipango ; but 
I believe they cannot lie much farther to the west than they 
are shown, and the currents here may have thrown us some- 
what too much to the north. It may be, likewise, that we 
have not come quite so far as our pilots think, as we have 
had many calms these last few days, besides the currents." 

" Maybe, your Worship, maybe," Martin responded rather 
doubtfully, ''but their reckonings seem to me to be right 
enough." 

Now, Colon knew that the fleet had come at least one 
hundred leagues farther than the pilots had calculated ; but 
it was doubly important that even the smaller distance should 
be thought too great, first, in order that the Pinzons and 
other officers who knew something of navigation should not 
lose faith in the accuracy of the chart by which they were 
sailing, as they certainly would in case they thought they 
had reached the longitude of the islands Colon had pictured 
and did not find them ; and, second, that the men should 
be kept as long as possible in ignorance of the extent to 
which the voyage was drawing out. He therefore asked 
Martin Alonzo to make fast a line to the chart, and, hauHng 
it on board the flagship, he sat down with his own pilots 
and such of his sailors as understood the matter, and dis- 
cussed with them their whereabouts. They had all heard 
the conversation with Pinzon ; and Colon, rightly relying on 
the high opinion they held of his lieutenant's sagacity, 
pointed out the certainty there was of reaching the longed- 
for mainland before many days. The worst was past, he 
argued, and who would be willing to abandon the reward 
after so long and arduous a journey to secure it ? 

That very evening, as the sun was setting, and, as so often 
happens at that hour in the tropics, the horizon lay clear 
and sharp on every side as though drawn with a ruler be- 



I 



112 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

tween sea and sky, Colon and his commanders, with many 
of their crews, mounted the high " castles " built in the 
bows and sterns of their vessels, and strained their eyes to 
catch, if possible, some glimpse of land against the western 
sky. Suddenly there came a shout which drew all eyes 
toward that ship. 

" The prize, Seiior Captain, the prize ! " called out Martin 
Alonzo. " To me falls the reward. Yonder is land, due 
southwest as the compass shows." 

At first Colon saw nothing of the discovery reported ; but 
hearing many of the ** Pinta's " crew shouting out confirma- 
tion of their commander's statement, and the " Nina's " men 
affirming the same from the masthead and yards to which 
they had swarmed at the first cry from the sister-ship, he 
watched the horizon still more closely until to his sight, too, 
there seemed to be a faint, low blot far away off the port 
bow. 

" God's blessing rest upon you, Martin Alonzo ! " called 
out Colon, on seeing this. " Yours is our sovereigns' reward, 
but to Him be the praise. Let us give Him thanks." 

Then falling on his knees, surrounded by his officers and 
crew, he solemnly intoned the noble chant " Gloria in Ex- 
celsis," followed devoutly by those around him, Martin Alonzo 
and his brother Vicente Yaiiez setting a like example to the 
men on the " Pinta " and the " Niiia." 

What a picture must the three small ships have presented 
at that moment, as they slowly rolled to the long swell of 
that lonely ocean ; while the tropical night closed down 
upon them, and the soft breath of the trade-wind carried the 
solemn words of those rough and boisterous men out into 
the west toward the land they sought ! 



y 




X. 



WHAT THE MOON DISCLOSED. 



THAT night few eyes were closed and few tongues at 
rest on board the Httle squadron ; for no one doubted 
that the morning would see the end of the wearisome voy- 
age. The new country they were approaching, its people, 
riches, towns, and cities, — all these and a hundred other 
speculations furnished an inexhaustible text for the garrulity 
of the excited mariners. Happy were those men who had 
made the cruise to Africa, or even to the eastern shores of 
the Mediterranean. They were listened to by their less trav- 
elled messmates as almost divine oracles, while they spun their 
yarns about the strange things they had seen and heard on 
those wonderful coasts, of the wild and marvellous peoples 
they had met, and of the treasures which came from the still 
remoter East. It is doubtful whether on the three vessels a 
single soul, from Colon down to the youngest ship-boy, had 
any other thought than that they were at last within touch 
of the fabulous wealth of the Orient. 

According to the Captain's estimate they were about 
twenty or twenty-five leagues from the land when darkness 
fell upon them, and he ordered all sails set and the course 
changed from west to southwest as night set in. The wind, 
which had failed them entirely the greater part of the day, 
or only blown in fitful puffs, now sprang up strong and fresh, 
and carried them swiftly toward their destination. When 
day broke they had nearly covered the supposed distance, 
and all hands sought some point of vantage from which to 



114 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

catch the first sight of the promised land. No sign or ves- 
tige of it was to be seen ; on all sides spread the boundless 
ocean, as smooth and smiling as any inland sheet, and over 
its scarce ruffled surface the morning breeze was bearing 
them cheerily onward, as though in wanton mockery. 
Thinking they might have steered too far to the south, 
Colon now led the way again due west until after midday ; but 
seeing still no sign of the land, he changed the course once 
more to the southwest, in the hope of finding the vanished 
shore. It was all in vain ; as the evening came on, even 
Martin Alonzo had to confess that they must have been de- 
ceived by some cloud or distant haze the day before, and, 
in the eagerness of their hopes, taken a mere shadow for 
solid earth. 

Great as was this disappointment, it did not affect the 
sailors as unfavorably as Colon had feared. So many of them 
had seen that hazy outline in the southwest, that they would 
not believe themselves mistaken, and the conviction grew 
up among them that, after all, they would soon reach land. 
No doubt the fact which they had learned the day before, 
that Martin Alonzo and all the pilots believed with Colon in 
the existence of islands thereabout, led them to argue that 
if they had missed one they would find another ; and then 
the captain himself had shown a willingness at last to steer 
for land even when it lay off that endless western course. 
But Colon had no idea of thrashing idly over the surface 
of the ocean, notwithstanding his momentary deviation ; for 
as soon as he was satisfied that they all had been mistaken 
he headed for the west, and maintained steadily that direc- 
tion day after day. For another week nothing occurred to 
break the monotony of the voyage ; the winds were favor- 
able and the sea smooth, so they made rapid headway. 
Now and then some land-bird would alight on the ships, or 
a lumbering pelican swoop down to rest on their yards, and 
once a little flock of sparrows settled in the rigging; but 
otherwise no new sign of land appeared. The sailors 
amused themselves with snaring the birds and catching dol- 
phins ; but in the absence of any novelty, the old complain- 



WHAT THE MOON DISCLOSED. II5 

ing spirit revived. On the 29th a frigate-bird visited the 
"Santa Maria," and this somewhat encouraged them; for 
the pilots and other seamen who had made the Guinea voy- 
age had seen these birds in the Cape Verde Islands, and 
agreed that every night they returned on shore to sleep. 
Still the everlasting monotony of this summer sailing began 
to tell again on the men, and they growled out that the birds 
did them no good, since the land they came from never 
appeared. 

On the first day of October, Pedro Alonzo, the pilot of 
the flagship, came to Colon in some perturbation, and showed 
him that according to the reckoning of himself and his col- 
leagues, the fleet had sailed now five hundred and seventy- 
eight leagues from the Canaries, and were in the very place 
where, according to the captain's chart, the islands should 
be found. Colon knew perfectly well that they not only had 
come that far, but were more than seven hundred leagues 
west of Ferro ; but of this he said nothing to his pilot, and 
only agreed with him, as with Pinzon before, that the islands 
were not laid down with exactness and might be still more 
or less distant. It would be a desperate matter, indeed, 
were the pilots to reject the guidance of the chart ; but by 
the 3d, Colon himself became anxious lest they might have, 
in fact, passed through the islands he expected to find, and 
thus his whole system of computation be at fault. For the 
first time in three weeks no birds were seen ; and this he 
feared was an indication that the islands lay astern of him, 
having been sailed past unperceived. He said nothing of 
this apprehension to any of his officers, however, consoling 
himself with the reflection that even if they had missed the 
islands they would be so much the nearer to Asia itself; 
but none the less was he perturbed and harassed in mind as 
the limit he had marked for his voyage was approached with 
no further evidence of land appearing. Once more he was 
favored by fortune at his moment of discouragement ; for on 
the next day large flocks of the smaller land-birds reappeared, 
as well as their old visitors, the pelicans, flying still into the 
west and southwest, as though their nesting-place was there. 



Il6 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Always keeping directly westward, the fleet was now making 
more rapid average progress than at any time since leaving 
Palos, Colon's observations showing fifty, sixty, and some- 
times seventy leagues a day. Believing firmly that any 
morning they might now fall upon land, he ordered the 
smaller vessels to join the flagship every evening before sun- 
set and every morning at sunrise, so that all might thus 
search the horizon together in the clear atmosphere of those 
favorable hours for some indication of the expected shores. 
They had now even passed the nine hundred leagues where, 
according to his calculation, the great island of Cipango 
was to be found, and were each day drawing nearer to the 
spot where, if his chart were to be believed, the continent 
of Asia was to be met with ; so he looked almost from hour 
to hour for a glimpse of the lands "where the spices grew." 
Whichever ship should first descry land was to hoist a flag 
to her mainmast-head and fire a gun as signal, whereupon 
the others were to join the flagship and sail in company for 
the coast. It behooved the fleet of their Majesties of Spain 
to enter the ports of the Orient with becoming state ! 

As the " Pinta " joined the " Santa Maria " on the even- 
ing of the 6th of October, Colon hailed Martin Alonzo and 
asked whether he had any news for the day. 

" Not I, Sefior Captain," the other replied, "save some 
floating sea-grass and a few vagabond birds. Saving your 
wiser judgment, it would seem to me that now were a pro- 
per time to change our course and steer more toward the 
south. We have already come more than eight hundred 
leagues to the west, where the islands should be, and as yet 
have seen no land." 

Colon thought deeply before answering. He was aware 
that they had come more nearly a thousand leagues than 
eight hundred, and knew only too well how restive the sail- 
ors were becoming at his persistent pursuit of the western 
track. 

" In good time, Martin Alonzo," he said at length, " we 
shall make the change. Let us hold our course a little 
longer, and then turn southward as you propose. The chart 



WHAT THE MOON DISCLOSED. 1 17 

says that Cipango lies dead ahead of us, and we must be 
close to it now. If we steer southwest too soon, we may 
miss both it and the mainland too, and have a weary jour- 
ney for our pains. By sailing the nearer to it, we shall run 
the lesser risk." 

" What your Worship says is well said for me, Sehor Cap- 
tain," Pinzon answered readily. " Whether it be a day or a 
year, I follow your Worship's orders. But something in my 
heart tells me we shall touch the coast before long." 

Colon had shown his usual shrewdness in speaking of the 
danger of missing Cipango altogether by steering off his 
course. The sailors hearing this felt satisfied that their 
leader knew them to be close to the island, and were thus 
the more anxious that he should do nothing that might 
cause them to lose it ; while his ready promise to Martin 
Alonzo to change his direction as soon as it appeared safe 
tended still more to relieve their minds. 

The next morning as the sun was rising, a gun was fired 
from the " Nina," and the flag run up to her masthead gave 
notice that her commander, Vicente Yanez, believed the 
land to be in sight. Immediately all three ships crowded 
sail and pressed forward in anxious rivalry to discover whether 
the longed-for shores were indeed at hand ; but as the day 
wore on, the horizon showed again its familiar line unbroken 
by any object, and it became evident that once more the 
hope had fathered the delusion, and they were once more 
chasing a phantom. This repetition of their recent disap- 
pointment told more heavily on the temper of the crews, 
and they broke out into fresh complaints and murmurings. 
Without doubt this influenced in some measure Colon's de- 
cision to change his course without further postponement ; 
but what had greater weight with him was that immense 
flocks of birds, far more than any before seen, were passing 
overhead all day, coming always from the northward and 
flying as regularly toward the southwest. Colon reflected 
that although the fleet was sailing under summer skies and 
through the balmiest of airs, farther north cold weather was 
commencing by these first October days ; and he therefore 



Il8 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

judged that these unusual flights of birds were migrating 
from the colder climate to their winter quarters in the ge- 
nial South. This was a shrewd deduction, and was the di- 
rect result of his study and observation ; for, as he unassum- 
ingly tells us, he " had noticed that most of the islands 
which the Portuguese had discovered had been shown to them 
by the birds." So when the "Pinta" and "Nina" joined 
the flagship before sunset as usual, he hailed the former and 
told Martin Alonzo of the conclusion he had reached. 

" In that am I of one mind with your Worship, Seizor 
Captain," shouted back Pinzon. " All this day have I been 
watching these birds, and they are not holding one course 
without good cause. If we follow in their wake, we shall 
surely come to where they are bound." 

" We will do so, Senor Martin," Colon answered ; " and 
the more willingly that there is no sign of the " Nina's " land 
in the west. Lay your course southwest for the night, and 
take heed that you and Vicente Yanez keep close to me. 
We will sail that way for a few days, and see if the birds 
guide well." 

This order was received with delight by all the seamen ; 
and when the bows headed away from the setting sun and 
the fleet stood on the more southerly passage, they forgot 
their fancied grievances and felt new hopes swell in their 
hearts.^ 

For several days smooth seas, blue skies, and fair winds 
still accompanied them, but yet no land appeared. The 
birds continued to pass overhead by day, and at night could 
be heard chattering and calling as they swept by in the dark- 
ness. Some which alighted on the vessels were caught by 
the sailors and found to be plainly field-birds, of a kind 
which could not possibly find rest on the water. Colon him- 
self noticed that the grasses and weeds which floated past his 
ship were singularly fresh and green, and fancied that the 

1 In recording the changes made in the squadron's course, and the 
conversations between Columbus and Martin Alonzo, we have followed 
the evidence given by some of the sailors in the great lawsuit of Diego 
Colon against the Crown. 



WHAT THE MOON DISCLOSED. I19 

air was sweet with the fragrance of flowers, — as was, in- 
deed, quite possible ; for between the tropics one can often 
distinguish the perfume of the forests at a great distance 
from land. But after they had sailed four days on their 
new course and still saw nothing but sea and sky where they 
had counted so surely on finding earth and trees, the muti- 
nous element among the flagship's crew burst into loud and 
unrestrained complaints. They could no longer stand this 
foolhardy cruising to gratify a dreamer's fancies, they de- 
clared. Westward they had sailed at first for four long 
weeks, and now to the southwest they were making at the 
rate of over seventy leagues a day ; and yet nothing met 
their sight but water and clouds, and clouds and water. It 
was little short of sheer suicide to push farther on into that 
world of delusion. The more crafty among these discon- 
tents insinuated also to their simpler shipmates that they 
were being sacrificed to satisfy the heartless ambition of a 
foreign adventurer; that Colon was staking his own life and 
theirs as well on a desperate chance : if he succeeded by 
any miracle in finding land, he would be made a great lord 
and gain great rewards ; but if he failed they all would pay 
for his madness with their lives. Had not this enterprise 
been condemned by all the learned and able doctors by 
whom it was examined, and did not their own present ex- 
perience confirm all the objections of those wise men? 
They had already sailed infinitely farther than any seamen 
had hitherto dared to venture, and nothing in their duty as 
good Spaniards to the Crown, obliged them to continue on un- 
til they came to the end of the world, with the certainty of 
eventually perishhig staring them in the face. These mur- 
murings and menaces which were at the beginning confined 
to only a few of the crew and indulged in by them beneath 
their breath, gradually gathered strength as they passed from 
mouth to mouth, until a large part of the ship's company 
became tainted with the infection of disloyalty. Seeing 
this, the most desperate of the would-be mutineers went 
a step farther, and hmted at the desirability of " losing " 
their commander. Suppose he were to fall overboard dur- 



1 20 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

ing the night, while taking the altitude of the Polar Star with 
his astrolabe? Who would be the worse off for his dis- 
appearance? At best he was a foreigner, and no one was 
likely to probe very deeply to ascertain the circumstances 
of his removal. Few were willing to give their assent to 
this scheme, to their credit be it said, although its facile 
practicability was evident to all. The great majority were 
content with the milder measures proposed, and confined 
themselves to demanding an immediate return to Spain. 
They accordingly sought out their Captain and laid their 
grievances before him ; they had had enough of this phan- 
tom-chasing, they now declared, and boldly required that 
he should put about and give the signal for home. 

Colon was a kind and patient commander, thoughtful of 
his men, and both from consideration and from policy anx- 
ious to humor them whenever it was possible. But there was 
one thing he would not listen to, and that was any talk of 
turning back. Going forward to where the crew were gath- 
ered, when apprised of their demands, he addressed them 
with frankness and a keen appreciation of the delicacy of 
his position. He showed them the chart, and explained 
again at length his grounds for expecting daily and hourly 
to catch a sight of land, — if not of the mainland of Asia, 
at least of Cipango or some of the other great islands ad- 
jacent to it. He appealed to his pilots and the more expe- 
rienced seamen before him as to whether they had not 
repeatedly met with unfailing signs of the nearness of land, 
and whether it was not merely a question of a few days 
more or less when they must surely reach a coast. Dwell- 
ing at large upon the riches and treasures of the Indies, — 
their rivers with sands of gold, their forests of spice-trees, 
their wealthy and populous cities, their stores of pearls and 
precious gems, — he asked his men whether they were now 
willing to abandon all the vast reward which there awaited 
them, after having suffered the weariness and hardships of 
so long a voyage to find them ? Surely, he added, it would 
be a wiser and more sensible proceeding if they would bear 
patiently a few days longer with the tedium and privations 



WHAT THE MO OAT DISCLOSED. 121 

of their journey, rather than lose all this wealth and plenty, 
which were almost within their grasp, and face empty- 
handed the long and perilous voyage back to Spain, only 
to be jeered and mocked at when they reached their homes at 
last. Having thus patiently and earnestly argued with his 
people from the standpoint of their own well-being and 
advantage. Colon now added a final word on his own ac- 
count. Drawing himself up proudly and changing his tone 
of friendly discussion for one of command, he concluded by 
saying, — 

" I am the Captain-General of this fleet and the Ambas- 
sador of our royal sovereigns to the courts of Asia, my men. 
Under their Highnesses' orders we set out for the Indies 
across this western sea, and to the Indies we are going, 
with God's help and blessing. Look you to it that we have 
no more of this ; for, grumbling or no grumbling, we are 
going to find the land we have come so far to seek." Then, 
turning on his heel, he walked aft to his cabin.-^ 

Partly influenced by their leader's arguments and partly 
abashed by the courage and determination shown by him, 
the crew once more ceased their open complaining. If it 
still continued, it was carried on privately among themselves, 
and Colon heard no more of it. This was on the loth of 
October. The next day all was changed. 

On Thursday, the nth of the month, they held still to 
the southwest course, and ran into a heavy sea, the waves 
being higher than any they had seen since leaving the Ca- 
naries. The land-birds still flew past, always keeping the 
same direction ; but the sailors had almost ceased to heed 
them, — they had proven false prophets. When later in the 
day, however, the " Santa Maria's " crew saw a green rush 
float by their ship, they could not doubt that it had come 
from shore. Some leaned over the vessel's side eagerly 
searching for other tokens, while more yet kept a keen look- 
out along the horizon ahead for the first faint looming of the 

^ We have followed both the diary and the account given by Las 
Casas of the so-called " mutiny." Las Casas apparently wrote from 
information furnished by Columbus himself. 



122 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

land. Before long the " Pinta's " men saw plainly drifting past, 
almost within their reach, a fresh canestalk and a stick of 
wood ; and shortly after drew on board, in quick succession, 
another stalk, a bunch of weeds which could only have 
grown on dry land, and a bit of plank. This latter, with a 
second piece of wood which seemed to have been cut with 
some tool, satisfied the most sceptical that they were indeed 
approaching the shores of an inhabited country ; and when, 
toward afternoon, the " Niiia's " sailors announced trium- 
phantly that they had seen in the water a bough freshly broken 
from a tree and covered still with blossoms ; the men forgot 
all past anxieties, and were filled only with the enthusiasm 
of near success. 

At nightfall, after careful deliberation, Colon decided to 
head west again, satisfied that the shortest way to land 
would lie in that quarter. Pedro Alonzo, his pilot, in view 
of these signs of close proximity to shore, had advised him 
to lie to for the night, and not to sail ahead in the stiff breeze 
that then was blowing ; but the other pilots protested against 
such action, and urged that the fleet keep straight on, trust- 
ing to their lookouts to warn them in time of any threatened 
danger. Mindful of the excited and impatient temper of 
his men, Colon inclined to the latter opinion, and gave his 
orders accordingly. He laid especial injunctions upon the 
two Pinzons to keep their vessels near his own and main- 
tain a scrupulously careful watch ahead, and promised to 
whatever sailor should first sight land a silken doublet in 
addition to the royal bounty. Notwithstanding these pre- 
cautions, his commands were only partially obeyed. The 
wind blew fresh and the sea ran high, so that the " Pinta " and 
the " Niiia," being the better sailers, had a good excuse for 
keeping somewhat in advance of the flagship, and did not 
hesitate to make the most of it. As for watching, the 
eyes of every sailor in the three ships were directed over 
the tumbling sea m hopes of being the first to catch a 
glimpse of land, both for the sake of the reward and, being 
true mariners, for the sake of ending a tiresome cruise. 
They had been deceived by signs before ; but this time 



WHAT THE MOON DISCLOSED. 123 

they had seen and handled the very fruits of the earth, and 
knew they had not come from far. 

The night should have been one of bright moonlight ; but 
a flying scud obscured the moon at intervals, making the 
lookout all the more exciting with its alternations of light 
and darkness. Colon himself had taken his station on the 
high two-storied "castle " which was built up in the stern of 
his ship ; and from this commanding position his keen eye 
swept constantly the horizon from north to south, anxiously 
seeking to discover the faintest trace of a coast ahead. At 
ten o'clock his quick sight caught a glimmer of light out to 
sea, which almost instantly disappeared. Fixing his eye 
on the quarter where it had vanished, he called to Pedro 
Gutierrez and Rodrigo Sanchez, who were near by, and asked 
them whether they could not see it as well. Then, raising 
his voice, he hailed the lookout in the bows, — 

" Old, in the prow there ! See you not a light yonder off" 
the port bow? " 

As the ship rose on a billow, Pedro Gutierrez saw the 
light plainly, and so told the captain \ but Rodrigo Sanchez 
could not catch sight of it from where he stood. Up from 
the bows too came an answering hail which left the matter 
still in doubt, — 

" No, Seiior Captain, we see no light from here." 

Once or twice more, however, the wavering spark 
showed itself to Colon's intent gaze, and then sank out of 
sight. A lively discussion sprang up on board as to what 
the light might be. Some, forgetting they were not in Euro- 
pean waters, held that it was a lantern carried on a fisher- 
man's boat, and appearing or vanishing with the motion of 
the waves. Others thought it might be on one of the other 
vessels at a distance ; but this was voted improbable, for 
they should be directly ahead. Others still flatly denied 
that there had been any light ; they had not seen any, and 
therefore there could be none. But Colon felt sure that 
the light was on land, — a torch carried in some one's hand, 
or the gleam of a fire wavering about, as his line of vision 
altered, with the unsteadiness of his ship. Few inclined to 



124 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

this belief, though ; and as the tiny flame itself had seemed 
so feeble and uncertain, he did not feel justified in changing 
the course for so doubtful an indication, and contented him- 
self with repeating to his sailors his warning to keep their 
eyes well opened. If the light was indeed on shore, they 
would come up with the coast at some other point soon 
enough, he argued. 

Sweeping swiftly to the west, — for half a gale was blow- 
ing, — the fleet held on its way ; the " Pinta " leading, with 
the " Niiia " next, and the flagship last of all. Hour after 
hour went by without incident of any kind. At midnight 
the watch was changed, and fresh lookouts took the place 
of those who had been straining their eyes so far in vain ; 
but still the troubled surface of the ocean was all that met 
the sight. On board the "Santa Maria" the silence was 
unbroken, except by the swash of the waves against the 
ship's hull and the low voices of the sailors as now and then 
they muttered some remark to one another. Just as the 
watch was again changing, toward two o'clock, the clouds 
which had been hiding the moon blew off, and the whole 
sea for leagues around was bathed in a flood of clear white 
light. Scarcely had the last shadows swept over the rolling 
sea when a brilliant flash of fire was seen in the direction of 
the " Pinta," and the dull roar of a cannon was borne down 
the wind to the vessels astern. It was the signal for land 
in sight ; and the flagship pressed forward to join her fore- 
most consort. As her impatient sailors neared the " Pinta," 
they had no need to ask the news ; for directly before them, 
not more than a couple of miles away, lay the low and 
rounded summits of what were clearly sand-hills, while on 
the beach below a heavy surf was dashing in lines of snowy 
foam. At the very moment the moon emerged from the 
clouds, Juan Rodriguez Bermejo, one of the " Pinta's " sea- 
men from a little village near Seville, had seen the first 
beams fall on the gUttering sand and frothy breakers, and 
had hurriedly fired a gun, with excited cries of " The land ! 
the land!" Had the moon remained hidden but a itw 
minutes longer, there would have been a shipwreck to report. 



WHAT THE MOON- DISCLOSED. 1 25 

As it was, its friendly beams disclosed to the joyful eyes of 
the little squadron a world till then undreamed. 

Giving orders to shorten sail and lie to for the few re- 
maining hours of darkness, Colon humbly gave thanks to 
the God in whom he had trusted through all his perils and 
adversities, and waited with such patience as he could sum- 
mon for daylight to expose the nature of his discovery. 

What his thoughts were on that memorable night it would 
be idle to conjecture ; but we know at least that they had 
nothing to do with the continent we now miscall America. 
We have the warrant of his own words for supposing that 
he believed those breakers were beating on the shores of 
Japan, or of some neighboring island in the Asiatic seas, 
— perhaps on the very territories of the Great Khan him- 
self. Thus far everything had tended to confirm his con- 
viction that he was on the confines of Asia. Long before 
he started from Spain we have seen him arguing, with map 
in hand, that at seven or eight hundred leagues west of 
the Canaries he would find the easternmost of the islands 
mentioned by Marco Polo and Mandeville ; and in fact at 
that distance he met with such frequent signs of land that 
he was justified in supposing himself to be passing near 
them. At a thousand leagues from Ferro he expected to 
find Cipango ; and now that he had sailed only a little more 
than this distance he had before his eyes the very land he 
sought ! Whatever we may consider his behef, either as a 
delusion, a mistaken calculation, or a happy coincidence, no 
one can ever hope by hostile criticism to diminish the glory 
of this man's achievement. His voyage was the outcome 
of profound reflection, patient study, and elaborate mathe- 
matical computation. He crossed an ocean since the be- 
ginning of history believed to be impassable. He found, as 
he had expected, a continent where the intellectual world 
of his time maintained that nothing existed but wildest 
chaos or a stagnant waste of water. Whether that conti- 
nent was Asia or another, is immaterial in judging the merit 
of Colon's discovery. He was looking for land on the other 
side of the world, and there it was confronting him, despite 



1 26 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

every obstacle, danger, and discouragement that could be 
opposed against the faith and courage of a single human 
will. 

One of the claims advanced by the relatives and descen- 
dants of Martin Alonzo after Colon's death was that the 
former was entitled to the chief credit of this discovery, be- 
cause he had induced his commander to turn from the 
west to the southwest on the latter days of their ocean 
voyage. Had he, however, kept constantly on his westward 
course, his glory would have been only the more ; for his 
first landing would then have been on the mainland of the 
mighty continent which the world owed to his intrepid 
perseverance. In more recent times even fair-minded his- 
torians have not scrupled to deprive him of the minor 
distinction of having been the first to discover the land 
he now had found, and have even gone so far as to accuse 
him of having used his favor with the Crown after his return 
from this successful voyage to rob poor Juan Bermejo both 
of his glory and his pension, since to Colon himself Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella awarded the promised bounty. But these 
detractors fail to give due weight to these essential facts : 
First, that the fleet carried a royal notary, whose duty it was 
to record under oath every incident of interest for the in- 
formation of the sovereigns ; and this official dared not, 
even under Colon's demand, make a false report, which 
would be denied by nine men out of ten among the crews 
the moment their feet touched Spanish soil. Second, in 
their decree conferring this reward upon Colon the sover- 
eigns expressly say, " We are certain and certified that Don 
Cristoval Colon was Xht first who smv and discovered those 
islands," — a phrase plainly intimating that they were acting 
upon the evidence before them. Finally, during the dis- 
putes which arose after Colon's death, to which allusion has 
been made, the very witnesses brought forward by the Pin- 
zons themselves testified that, though none of the sailors 
could see the light when Colon hailed them on this memo- 
rable night, they had heard him call out and ask them the 
question ; and this to us is conclusive that he did see it, 



WHAT THE MOON DISCLOSED. 127 

whether they did or not. To argiie the contrary is to en- 
dow him with the gift of prophecy. 

As to what the Hght was, we beheve it to have been what 
Colon himself supposed, and that it was on what we call Wat- 
ting's Island, passed by the squadron as they sped onward 
to San Salvador. Since, however, like Homer's birthplace, 
there are no less than seven claimants for the honor of be- 
ing the Guanahani of the discovery, and each is supported 
with spirit by an equally competent authority, we shall do 
no more than record our individual opinion. 

All these cavillings and disputations are matters of no im- 
port in comparison with the gigantic exploit that was now 
accomplished. To defend the fame of the great-hearted 
sailor who was watching anxiously for the light of day would 
be to prove the undisputed. The whole dictionary cannot 
be framed into chapter or book which shall state more 
truthfully the title of his claim to immortality than the rude 
and well-worn couplet still borne proudly by his remote 
descendants, — 

*' On Castile and on Leon 
A new world bestowed Colon." 

Little did he himself think that night of the ten thousand 
maravedies or the pretensions of any one to have influenced 
his actions, we may well believe. If he dwelt at all upon 
the benefits which he should derive from his present dis- 
covery, it is more reasonable to suppose that his one idea 
was that that patch of sand and broken water had made 
him Grandee of Spain and Admiral of Castile.^ 

1 For a discussion of the justice of Columbus's claim to be the first 
to see land, see Note I in the Appendix. The identity of Guanahani 
with the modern San Salvador, or Cat Island, is, we believe, established 
by the facts recorded in Note J. 



XI. 
UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 

THE morning light of Friday, the 12th of October, in 
the year of Grace one thousand four hundred and 
ninety-two, disclosed to the eager eyes of Colon and his 
companions a sight which made more than one of them be- 
lieve they had reached the borders of the earthly Paradise 
of Holy Writ. Before them stretched the low but not 
monotonous coast of what was clearly an island surrounded 
by a sea of brightest emerald, whose long and regular lines 
of surf crashed down with sullen roar upon sloping beaches 
of snow-white sand, throwing high in air great jets of daz- 
zling foam. Beyond the sands a low growth of underbrush 
led up to the dense tangle of trees and vines which covered 
the land as far as the eye could see, broken here and there 
by a clearing, which from the ships seemed carpeted with 
velvet turf. The level rays of the eastern sun were reflected 
from the glittering surfaces of a million polished leaves or 
lost in the cool recesses of the shady woods. Along the 
outskirts of the forest or rising above its undulating line of 
swelling tree-tops, the feathery plumes of countless graceful 
palms were tossing restlessly in the cool sea-breeze. The 
fresh air of those morning hours was clear as crystal ; and 
each object on shore stood out sharp and distinct, as if in 
miniature. About the ships delicate flying-fish skimmed 
lightly from wave to wave, and the tiny barks of purple 
nautili balanced slowly past ; while in the clear depths of 
the sea beneath them their crews caught glimpses of rain- 



UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 1 29 

bow-colored fishes and beds of many-hued ocean plants. 
To the jaded sight of the rugged sailors, wearied with the 
dense blue gleaming of the thousand leagues of tropical 
seas over which they had come and the turquoise sky 
at which they had gazed so steadily, all this varied light 
and motion spoke of rest and keen enjoyment. To their 
commander it spoke of destiny fulfilled and duty yet 
to do. 

Colon was no longer a Genoese adventurer in the service 
of Spain, with the temporary office of Captain-general of a 
Spanish fleet ; he was their Catholic Majesties' High Admiral 
of the Western Seas and Viceroy and Governor of all the 
continents and islands which might lie therein, — so at least 
read the royal commission lying there within the strong- 
box in his cabin, and Colon was a man tenacious of his 
rights. No more modest mortal ever drew the breath of 
life ; but he had devoted his manhood to this work, it 
had been successful, and he rightly judged that he was 
entitled to the very last honor and advantage which had 
been promised him for his reward. Had he failed, would 
he have been spared the very last word of derision and 
contempt? 

He gave orders now that all should make ready for the 
solemn ceremony of taking possession of the new-found 
territory for the Spanish Crown, and himself put on a gor- 
geous uniform of scarlet velvet and silk becoming his 
new rank. Accompanied by the royal officers, — Rodrigo 
Sanchez, Rodrigo Escovedo, Pedro Gutierrez, and Diego 
de Arana, — with his pilots and other principal mariners, 
Colon entered the large boat of the flagship, and was rowed 
toward a point on shore where an inlet allowed an easy pas- 
sage through the surf. Behind him followed the boats from 
the " Pinta " and " Niiia," with Martin Alonzo and Vicente 
Yaiiez in their respective crafts, surrounded by their pilots 
and chief sailors, all in holiday attire. Standing in the stern 
of his own barge, Colon himself carried the royal standard of 
Castile ; while his two lieutenants each bore the ensign 
of the expedition, — a white banner embroidered with a 

9 



130 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

large green cross,^ having the initials of the sovereigns at 
either extremity of the arms, with a royal crown above each 
letter. As the keel of his boat grated on the white coral 
sand of the beach, Colon leaped ashore, and throwing him- 
self upon his knees, kissed the ground, and gave thanks to 
Almighty God for the measureless blessing that had been 
vouchsafed him. Quickly following their leader's example, 
his escort landed and knelt in prayer before they grouped 
themselves around him. Drawing his sword from its sheath 
and unfurling the flag he bore, he called upon his lieuten- 
ants, the royal officers, and all others present to bear witness 
that he took possession of that land and of all other conti- 
nents and islands thereto adjacent for the Crowns of Castile 
and Aragon in the name of the Holy Trinity. Taking up a 
handful of earth and breaking a branch off a shrub near by, 
he declared that the land and all it held were now part of 
the dominions of their Catholic Majesties, christening it San 
Salvador, after Our Saviour, under whose especial protection 
he had placed his ships in setting sail from Palos. Having 
thus compHed with the political requirements of his discov- 
ery, he reverently bared his head, and offered up in Latin 
this short prayer : — 

" O Eternal and Omnipotent God, by Thy sacred word 
didst Thou create earth and sky and sea. May Thy 
name be blessed and glorified and Thy Majesty be praised 
that at the hands of Thy humble servant it has been per- 
mitted that Thy Holy Name should be known and preached 
throughout this other part of the world." 

Then handing to Rodrigo Escovedo, as notary of the fleet, 
their Majesties' commission. Colon stood proudly leaning 
on the royal standard while that document was read. After 
setting forth the many titles and dignities of the Spanish 

1 It is worth noting, as probably more than a coincidence, that 
the green cross was a chosen emblem of the Holy Office of the 
Inquisition, and as such was a notable feature in all aiitos dafi. 
Its use by Columbus would seem to be connected with his favor- 
ite idea that his enterprise was in the nature of a crusade against 
Heathendom. 



UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 131 

sovereigns, which formed the preface of all official acts, the 
notary continued : — 

" Inasmuch as you, Cristoval Colon, are setting out by Our 
command, with certain of Our ships and people, to discover and 
acquire divers islands and mainlands in the Ocean Sea, and We 
hope that by the help of God some of the said islands and main- 
lands shall by your efforts and diligence be discovered and won ; 
and, since you put yourself into this peril upon Our service, it is 
just that you should be for it rewarded, and We accordingly de- 
sire to honor and distinguish you for such service ; it is Our 
grace and will that you, the said Cristoval Colon, as soon as 
you shall have discovered the said islands and mainlands in 
the Ocean Sea, or any one of them, shall be Our Admiral and 
Viceroy and Governor in them ; and that you shall always there- 
after call and entitle yourself Don Cristoval Colon, and that your 
sons and successors in the said office and rank shall call themselves 
Don, and Admiral, and Viceroy and Governor of the same." 

Rodrigo Sanchez then went on to read the privileges and 
duties attached to the high position thus created, and the 
formal notices to all authorities and dignitaries throughout 
the Spanish dominions that they should recognize and 
respect Colon in his new capacity. He continued : — 

" And We also command all captains, masters, mates, officers, 
seamen, and seafaring men in general. Our subjects and people, 
who now are, or who ever shall be, and each and every one of 
them, that whenever the said islands and mainlands shall have 
been discovered and won by you in the Ocean Sea, and you, 
or whoever you appoint, shall have taken the oath and per- 
formed the ceremonies appointed for such cases, they shall re- 
ceive and obey you for all your lifetime, and after you your sons 
and successors from successor to successor for ever and ever, as 
Our Admiral of the Ocean Sea 1 and Viceroy and Governor in 
the said islands and mainlands which you shall discover and 
acquire." 

Then followed the penalties incurred by whomever should 
fail to observe the respect and authority to which the new 
grandee was entitled. 

1 We have taken the title of our narrative from this official designa- 
tion of Columbus's rank. The " Ocean Sea " was the term given to 
the Atlantic, as distinguished from the Mediterranean Sea. 



132 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

" Given in Our city of Granada, on the 30th day of the month 
of April in the year of the Birth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ one 
thousand four hundred and ninety-two," 

concluded the notary. 

" I, the King ! " he added, bowing his head at the mighty 
names ; " I, the Queen ! " 

Many a man of those who now stood listening to the 
proclamation of their Majesties' Viceroy had been in the 
crowded congregation which had filled St. George's 
Church only a few months before, in that little seaport 
town away on the other side of the world, when another 
notary had read certain other royal decrees commanding 
his hearers to join the unknown stranger who stood in their 
midst, and sail under his leadership on what they had all 
believed was a mad and desperate undertaking. Those de- 
crees, like this one they were hearing, were dated on the 
30th of April, and like this one were written in the newly 
conquered capital of the Moors ; but in the circumstances 
of their publication there was a difference as wide as the 
ocean which rolled between Palos and the sea-girt island 
where now they stood. The reckless adventurer of April 
was the Viceroy of the Indies to-day ; the tall, blue-eyed 
foreign sailor, with his odd Italian accent, at whom they had 
laughed in the Andalusian town, and sworn at in the fore- 
castle of the " Santa Maria," held now their lives in his 
hand and represented the sovereigns of Spain ! Even the 
roughest sailor present, as he stood in the shade of those 
strange trees and looked past that stately form in scarlet 
across the beach to the distant horizon beyond the idle 
ships, must have felt the contrast, and wished himself any- 
where else than so near this unexpected Admiral. 

At the conclusion of the notary's reading Colon took 
before him the oath of allegiance to the Crown on his acces- 
sion to these dignities, and then his own officers and those 
of the sovereigns swore in turn to obey him as their mon- 
archs' lieutenant. As for the lesser fry, they acted no doubt 
according to their natures ; some humbly begging his par- 
don for past offences, and others holding aloof and taking 



UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 1 33 

their chances of the Admiral's humor. But Colon, the 
formalities concluded, turned his attention to another class 
of spectators who had been silent and awestruck witnesses 
of these portentous ceremonies. 

Even from aboard the squadron, as soon as the sun had 
risen, it had been evident that the new land was inhabited ; 
for human forms were seen emerging from the edge of the 
forest and, after gazing at the ships, running back to its 
friendly shelter. At such a distance from shore it was 
impossible to distinguish what manner of people the natives 
were; and when the boats landed they found no sign of 
human life beyond a few footprints in the sand. As the 
rite of taking possession of the territory and the reading 
of the royal proclamation proceeded, however, the Spaniards 
observed a number of natives watching them closely from 
behind the trees and bushes. Seeing that they carried no 
weapons of any kind, the Admiral (as we must now call him 
in obedience to the royal mandate) ordered his men to pay 
no heed to them, but allow them to approach as nearly as 
they wished. Little by little the natives drew closer to the 
marvellous beings who had so suddenly visited their shores, 
lost in amazement at the brilliant colors of their brave 
apparel, the fluttering glory of their silken flags, and the 
blinding splendor of their burnished armor. Noticing that 
the islanders wore no clothing and judging them thereby to 
be savages, the Admiral held out some of the trinkets and 
baubles of which he had brought a quantity, taught by his 
African experience of the value of such trifles among un- 
civilized races. After a while a few of the bolder spirits came 
forward and took up the gifts which had been left for them 
on the ground. Seeing no harm happen to their companions, 
the others gradually advanced, so that the Spaniards were 
soon surrounded by a curious and astonished throng. Satis- 
fied of their peaceable disposition, the Admiral now led the 
way into the woods in search of the town or settlement from 
which he supposed the islanders had come. Some of his 
party accompanied him, while others remained behind to 
rear on the beach the wooden cross which at this and every 



134 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

subsequent landing-place the Spaniards raised with super- 
stitious piety. The Admiral gave the strictest orders against 
the slightest sign of violence or offence being shown by his 
people to the natives, and even prohibited them from ac- 
cepting the little tributes which the savages timidly proffered 
to the strangers in the apparent behef that they were divine 
beings. Happily his wise policy was respected, and the 
rude mariners and men-at-arms were bewildered at finding 
themselves the objects of humble adoration while they raised 
the emblem of their own faith. 

The Admiral and his escort wandered on, as deeply lost in 
admiration at what they saw as were the savages who fol- 
lowed them at the appearance of their miraculous visitors. 
The trees were strange in foliage, flower, fruit, and bark. 
Between the joints made by bough and trunk sprang great 
bunches of gorgeously colored blossoms or hung huge sprays 
of waving green. Trees as tall as the oaks of Spain were 
covered to the tips of their farthest branches with masses of 
delicate bloom ; while from the very bark of others tiny 
pink and scarlet blossoms grew like thorns on the bushes at 
home. At every footstep they crushed down some grass or 
weed or fern unlike any they had ever seen before. Over- 
head the tree-tops met in a sun-proof roof, each bound to 
its neighbor by an endless rope of festooned vines. Now 
and again a stray sunbeam lighted up the green and red 
of some brightly plumaged bird as it started at the tread of 
the new-comers, and in the cool gray shade of the darkest 
corners flashed the painted wings of gaudy butterflies. Odd 
insects scuttled out of the way as the Spaniards pursued their 
path ; and more than one hardy seaman crossed himself in 
mortal terror at the sight of some hideous reptile which he 
thought must have come from the nether gulfs. It was a 
land of marvel and enchantment to even the more intelli- 
gent of the party, and those of lesser knowledge were ready 
to see in every novelty the impress of a magic hand. 

The Admiral tried to gather, by the use of signs, from the 
natives who accompanied him some knowledge of a neigh- 
boring city, or their ruler's Court ; but little progress could 



UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 1 35 

be made in such a language. After he had explored the 
vicinity of the landing-place without discovering any habi- 
tations, he turned his steps again toward the boats, not 
caring to venture unprepared too far into a country offering 
such admirable opportunities for fatal ambuscades. Making 
some additional presents to the savages and trying to con- 
vince them by signs of his benevolent intentions, he gave the 
order to row along shore, and the boats coasted for some 
distance before putting back to the vessels in the offing. 
What happened later in the afternoon, and what were his 
impressions regarding the day's experiences in so strange a 
world, we can best gather from the entry made in his journal 
before the eventful twenty-four hours had reached their 
close. The Admiral wrote that evening : — 

" I have given to some of these people brightly colored caps 
and necklaces of glass beads to wear, so that they shall have the 
greater friendship towards us, for I know that it will be easier 
to influence them and convert them to our Holy Faith by gentle 
means rather than by force. Other trifles of little value, too, I 
gave them, and they became so much attached to us that it was 
a marvel. After we had left the shore they swam out to the 
boats where we were, and brought us parrots and balls of cotton 
thread and javelins, with many other things, which they ex- 
changed with us for what we had, such as beads and hawk-bells. 
Indeed, they would take anything we offered and give whatever 
they possessed in return with the greatest readiness. But it 
seems to me that they are a people very poor in everything. 
They wear no more clothes than on the day they were born, and 
all those I saw were young men not more than thirty years old. 
They are well proportioned, with very handsome figures and 
good faces. Their hair is as coarse as that in a horse's tail, and 
is worn short. They wear it down over their eyebrows, except 
a few long locks which hang behind and are never cut. Some 
of them were painted black, while others are of the same color 
as the Canary Islanders, neither black nor white. Others again 
paint themselves all white, others all red, others still of any 
color they can find. Some paint only their faces, others the 
whole body ; some around the eyes only, and others their noses 
alone. They carry no weapons, and know nothing about them ; 
for I showed them a sword and they took hold of it by the edge 
and cut themselves, not knowing what it was. They have no 



136 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

iron at all; their javelins are merely long sticks without any 
head ; some with a fish's tooth at the end and others with some- 
thing else. They are all, in general, of a good height, easy in 
their actions and well made. They have the forehead and the 
head very wide, more so than any nation I have ever seen, and 
the eyes very beautiful and not small. I noticed several who 
had the scars of wounds on their bodies, and asked them by 
signs what they were; and they showed me how people came 
there from the other islands which are near, and tried to capture 
them, and they defended themselves. And I believed when I 
heard it, and still think, that those people come here from the 
mainland and try to take them captive. They would make good 
laborers and seem to have a good disposition, because I observe 
that they quickly repeat whatever is said to them; and I think 
they could easily be made good Christians, for they do not seem 
to have any religion. If it pleases God, I shall take with me 
from here when I leave half-a-dozen of them for vour Majesties, 
in order that they may learn to speak our language. Not a sin- 
gle animal did I see of any kind on this island except parrots." 

Such is Columbus's own record of the first day he passed 
in the New World, as he wrote it in the diary he kept for 
the perusal of Ferdinand and Isabella. 

The next morning at daybreak the beach was thronged 
with the copper-colored natives, all staring at the ships and 
making frantic gestures for the strangers to come on shore. 
The Admiral, however, decided that he would not land at 
all this day, but remain on board and get things in readi- 
ness for beginning the work of systematic exploration of 
the new country. He was sure that he had not yet reached 
Japan, — or Cipango, as he called it, — nor the territory of the 
Great Khan, and assumed that San Salvador was only one 
of the lesser islands in the Asiatic seas, since the inhabitants 
showed no sign of the wealth and power which Marco Polo had 
ascribed to the people of those more important countries. 
He proposed, therefore, to examine the island, and then sail 
away in search of the great heathen kingdoms to which he 
was accredited as ambassador, and which he was now satisfied 
lay close at hand. As soon as the islanders saw that the Span- 
iards did not leave their ships, they determined to go out to 
the fleet themselves, and accordingly went for their canoes, 



UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 1 37 

as the distance was too great to swim. The Admiral wrote 
that evening in his journal : — 

" They came out to the ships in a kind of small craft like a 
ship's long-boat, made out of the trunk of a single tree and all 
of one piece, wonderfully fashioned after the manner of these 
people. They are so large that some of them held forty or 
forty-five men ; while others were smaller, and some only con- 
tained a single man. They row with a flat board like a baker's 
shovel, and move with extraordinary swiftness. If one of 
them is upset in the surf, all on board set themselves to swim- 
ming, turning the boat right side up and bailing her out 
with the gourds they carry with them. They brought out to us 
balls of cotton yarn, and parrots, and javelins, and other trifles 
of no value which it would take too long to write out, and they 
would trade all they had for whatever we chose to give them. 
For my part, I was watching them narrowly, trying to find out 
whether they had any gold, and I noticed that some of them 
wore small pieces of it fastened in holes bored through their 
noses. From their signs I understood that by going to the south 
or by sailing to the southern end of the island, I should find a 
king who had large vases made of it and a very great deal. I 
tried to get them to show me the way, but afterwards discovered 
that they did not know how to go there. So I have decided to 
wait until to-morrow afternoon and then set sail toward the 
southwest ; for according to the signs many of them made to me, 
they meant to say that there was land to the south and to the 
southwest and to the northwest. It seems, also, that the peo- 
ple living in the northwest come often to fight with the people 
of this island, and then go towards the southwest in search of 
gold and precious stones. 

" This island of San Salvador is a large one and perfectly 
level, and is full of very green trees and many springs. It has 
no mountain at all on it, and in its centre is a wide lake which it 
is a delight to look upon. The natives are exceedingly peace- 
able, and are so anxious to have something belonging to us that 
when they have nothing to give in exchange they are afraid we 
will not give them anything, and so they pick up whatever they 
can lay their hands on and plunge overboard to swim to their 
canoes. But when they have anything they will give it all for 
whatever we offer them ; even taking pieces of broken crockery 
and fragments of glassware in payment. I have seen them give 
sixteen balls of cotton yarn for three Portuguese farthings, which 
only amount to a Spanish blanca, and some of the cotton balls 



138 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

weighed more than twenty-five pounds apiece. I put a stop to 
this traffic, though, and would not let my men take any more 
from them ; but gave orders that if there was much cotton it 
should all be gathered together and bought for the Crown. It 
grows wild in this island ; but for want of time I have not been 
able to learn all about it that I should wish. I am sure that the 
gold which they wear in their noses is found here too ; but in or- 
der to lose no more time, I intend to leave here at once and see 
if I cannot find the island of Cipango. 

" Now that night is coming on, all the natives have gone on 
shore in their boats." 

It is interesting to learn from these notes which the great 
discoverer wrote at the close of the day's labor and excite- 
ment, how intimately the two great motives which actuated 
him were associated in his mind. On the very first day he 
remarks that the natives are so friendly and simple-minded 
that he believes they can easily be converted to Christianity ; 
and on the next we find him scanning closely the same peo- 
ple as they come on board his ship to see if he cannot dis- 
cover some token of gold or gems. To bring the heathen 
of Asia to a knowledge of the True Faith (under the domin- 
ion of the Spanish sovereigns) and to gather together the 
wealth of the Indies for the conquest of the Holy Sepulchre, 
— these were the objects ever before the sanguine mind of 
Columbus to his dying day. In this first flush of enthusias- 
tic anticipations he scarcely heeded the products of the 
earth which the simple islanders offered as their choicest 
gifts, and to his careless eye the parcels of " dried leaves" 
which they repeatedly pressed upon the Spaniards were 
nothing but "trifles of no value." Yet in after times the 
tobacco of the West Indies brought a far greater revenue 
to Spain and her colonies than would the mines of Gol- 
conda itself had they fallen to her lot. The gifts the gods 
prov'ide are not always those we have in view. 

Confident that San Salvador was not in itself important 
enough to waste much time over, at least at the beginning 
of his discoveries, he was impatient to go on to China and 
Japan, the Cathay and Cipango which he was so firmly per- 
suaded lay within those seas. When the natives pointed to 



UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GREEN CROSS. 1 39 

the southwest and northwest, he fancied they were indicating 
the whereabouts of the kingdoms he was seeking, and instantly 
determined to hasten thither. But whoever has tried to carry 
on a conversation with savages by means of signs, will have 
learned what very doubtful guides they are ; and in the Ad- 
miral's case his wishes proved ill interpreters. The island- 
ers could not possibly have any idea of what was passing in 
his mind, nor he any better knowledge of what they meant 
when they pointed in this direction and in that ; led away 
by his eager expectations, he supposed that both he and 
they were thinking of the same great realms, and so un- 
hesitatingly prepared to follow the lead they all uncon- 
sciously had given him. 




XII. 

AMONG THE ISLES OF IND. 

BEFORE leaving San Salvador, — or Guanahani, as he 
learned that the natives called it, — the Admiral deter- 
mined to make a reconnoissance along the coast, to discover 
if possible the town where the islanders lived, and make ac- 
quaintance with their chief or ruler. As soon as it was light 
enough on the following morning, the 15th of October, he 
accordingly ordered out his own barge, and the boats of 
the two caravels, and proceeded along the northern ex- 
tremity of the island in order to reach the side which was 
unseen from the ships. As the Spaniards rowed on, follow- 
ing the beach, the savages ran out from the woods and 
called to them with gestures as if inviting them to land. 
The Admiral writes : — 

" Some of them offered us water and others food ; while others 
still, when they perceived we did not intend to go on shore, 
threw themselves into the sea and swam out to us. We thought 
they asked us whether we came from heaven, and one old man 
came into my barge and in a loud voice cried out to the men 
and women ashore : ' Come and see the people who have come 
down from heaven ! Bring them something to eat and drink ! ' 

" A great many now appeared, both men and women, each 
carrying something and giving thanks to God by prostrating 
the.nselves on the ground and raising their hands toward the 
skies. Afterwards they shouted to us that we should go on 
shore; but I was afraid to land on account of a great reef of 
rocks which encircles the island, the entrance through which is 
very narrow, although there is room enough inside for all the 
ships in Christendom. To be sure, there are certain shoals in- 



AMONG THE ISLES OF IND. I4I 

side the reef ; but the sea is as quiet as a pond. It was in order 
to examine all this that I set out this morning, so that I might 
give an account of it to your Highnesses, and also to find a good 
site for a fort if any should be required. I came upon a piece 
of ground on which were six cabins, which is almost an island, 
but not quite. This could be turned completely into an island 
in two days ; but I do not think it necessary, for these people 
are very ignorant of weapons, as your Majesties can see from 
the seven of them which I have caused to be seized, that I might 
carry them with me and teach them our language and then bring 
them back. Later on your Highnesses can either send out and 
remove all these natives to Castile, or hold them captive in the 
island itself, as may be best ; for fifty Spaniards can keep 
the whole population in subjection and compel them to do what- 
ever is wanted. Close to this httle peninsula there are good 
springs and groves of trees more beautiful than any I have 
ever seen, and with their leaves as green as the woods of Spain 
in May and April. After examining that harbor I returned to 
the ships, and gave orders to make sail." 

In taking with him these seven islanders to act as pilots 
and interpreters, it does not seem that the Admiral had to 
employ force. He speaks of them almost daily in his diary 
as serving him with wilHngness and interest, and it is likely 
the misguided captives esteemed it a high honor to be as- 
sociated with such miraculous beings as their visitors. But 
in proposing to transport the whole population to Spain, or 
to establish a garrison in the island and make the inhabitants 
work for the benefit of the Crown, he was suggesting neither 
more nor less than the enslavement of a hospitable and con- 
fiding people. In the same paragraph in which he advances 
this cold-blooded proposal, the Admiral records that the tribe 
he would thus kidnap as slaves had thanked their gods for his 
arrival and offered him freely everything they owned ! We 
must believe, nevertheless, that he was influenced by other 
than cruel or mercenary motives. His whole career proves 
him to have been a sincere friend and protector of the de- 
fenceless aborigines against the greed and arrogance of his 
rougher followers. Doubtless the explanation of this ap- 
parent contradiction lies in the fact that he believed that 
the surest way of turning them into Christians would be to 



142 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

place them under the tutelage of Spain, and in his opinion 
the certainty of their gaining heaven was cheaply bought if 
they only had to give in exchange the labor of their hands. 
The correctness of this system of ethics is not wholly evi- 
dent in these latter days; but the Admiral's subsequent 
course is uniformly consistent with it. The Moors taken 
prisoners by the Spaniards were considered as slaves ; the 
Portuguese brought back from every voyage to the Guinea 
coast large numbers of the African negroes ; and in both 
these instances every effort was put forth to convert the 
captives to the Christian faith. To one brought up in such 
a school there was nothing unjust or unprincipled in the sug- 
gestion of the Admiral, and if in later years it was repudi- 
ated by Isabella and reprehended by Las Casas, he returned 
to Spain and re-embarked for the '* Indies " without a word of 
censure being raised against his present view. Had he fore- 
seen that within fifty years the entire population of the West 
Indies would disappear under the theory that they were the 
lawful prey of their Spanish discoverers, he would have 
been the first to throw about them the strong protection of 
the Crown. 

No such anticipations disturbed the Admiral's mind that 
quiet Sunday afternoon as the fleet got under weigh and 
steered for another large island which was visible on the 
horizon to the west of San Salvador. Sitting in the shelter 
of his cabin, he wrote out his diary in the calm enjoyment 
of his novel surroundings. He continues : — 

" So many islands are in sight, that I cannot make up my 
mind which to visit first. The natives I have brought with 
me explained by signs that there were so many and so very 
many that they could not be counted, and they called more 
than a hundred by name. I have therefore chosen the largest 
one, and decided to go to it ; and this I am doing now. It 
is, perhaps, five leagues distant from San Salvador, and of the 
others some are nearer and some farther. They are all level, 
without any mountains, and are very fertile. They are like- 
wise inhabited, and the people on them seem to make war upon 
their neighbors, although these I have with me are very simple- 
hearted and magnificent specimens of manhood." 



AMONG THE ISLES OF IND. 1 43 

The island for which the fleet was steering proved to be 
nearer twenty miles distant than fifteen ; so, as they had a 
strong current setting against them, the Admiral gave orders 
to shorten sail and not attempt to make an anchorage that 
evening for fear of reefs and hidden rocks. It was quite 
noon on the following day when he finally reached the 
coast ; and at first he determined to make no landing, as a 
still larger island was now visible, lying farther to the west ; 
but he concluded that the additional distance was too great 
to be covered in the remainder of the day, and so came to 
anchor about sunset off the western point of the island he 
had reached. To this he gave the name of Santa Maria 
de la Concepcion, or to be more brief, Conception, in honor 
of that feast of the Virgin Mary. 

The natives he had brought with him from San Salvador, — 
or his interpreters, as we may call them for convenience, — 
although as yet they did not know a word of Spanish, indicated 
to him by signs that there was plenty of gold in this island, 
and that the inhabitants wore heavy bracelets and anklets of the 
precious metal. At least, this is what the Admiral supposed 
they said. But when he went on shore the next morning 
at daylight, accompanied by all the boats of the squadron, 
he found the people to be in the same condition as those 
of San Salvador, without so much as clothing, much less 
golden rings upon their limbs. On seeing this he came to 
the conclusion that the interpreters had only told him such 
tales to get a chance of going on shore and running away. Nor 
is it at all improbable ; for even a few days passed on board 
the small ship must have convinced the men of Guanahanl 
that the freedom of their life in forest and canoe was pref- 
erable to this enforced contact with the Spanish " angels." 

Poor as they were, the people of Conception gave the 
Spaniards everything that attracted their attention, and let 
them walk unmolested through their groves. Somewhat 
chagrined at finding no signs of the gold he had expected, 
the Admiral did not stay long on shore, but soon returned 
on board the flagship. When he reached her deck he ob- 
served that a large canoe had put out from the beach and 



144 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

was lying alongside the " Nina." The natives manning her 
had been on board that vessel inspecting the wonders of the 
white men and exchanging trifles with them, and now they 
were all taking their places in the canoe and making ready to 
start for land. Just as they were leaving the ship's side, 
one of the interpreters, who had been placed on board the 
" Niiia," sprang from the ship into the canoe, and the savages 
dashed their paddles into the water in a mad spurt for the 
beach. One of the Spanish boats which was coming off to 
the ships tried to intercept the canoe ; but it was a useless 
attempt, and by the time they had rowed back to shore the 
natives were safely hidden in the forest. " They ran like 
scared chickens," the Admiral writes; for he had mounted 
to the " castle " in the stern of his ship to watch the out- 
come of the chase. The Spaniards returned to the squad- 
ron towing the big canoe with them ; but their commander 
was not wholly pleased with their proceeding. It was of 
the first importance, in his judgment, not to frighten or 
disgust the natives in any way; and this escape of one 
of his interpreters and the patent failure of the captors to 
recover him, gave Colon no little anxiety for the moment. 
As he stood looking toward the land, reflecting on the in- 
cident, he noticed another canoe with a single paddler come 
out from a different quarter and head for the " Nina," which 
was anchored farthest inshore. This man had not seen 
the flight of his countrymen, and so came rapidly toward 
the caravel, holding up a ball of cotton yarn to be ex- 
changed for whatever the strangers would give. The sailors 
made signs for him to come on board the vessel ; but this he 
would not do, although he came close to her side. Seeing 
this, the Admiral called out to the crew to jump overboard 
and seize the canoe-man and bring him with his craft aboard 
the flagship. This they did in a twinkling, enjoying the 
sport ; and before the poor savage knew well what had hap- 
pened, he found himself before the tall white "god." Mak- 
ing every effort to show his unwilling guest that he had 
nothing to fear, the Admiral placed on the savage's head a 
gaudy sailor's bonnet, and tied about his arms some strings 



AMONG THE ISLES OF IND. 1 45 

of beads, while from his ears he hung a pair of tiny bells. 
Surprised and delighted with this bewildering generosity, 
the prisoner humbly offered to the celestial being before 
him the ball of cotton to which he had stubbornly clung the 
while ; but this was declined, with many signs of gratitude by 
Colon. After showing him some of the marvels of the ship, 
the Admiral put him back into his canoe, still grasping the 
ball of cotton, and had his own men tow both it and 
the larger one back to the beach, where they left him with 
the two boats. As soon as the natives who were hiding 
among the trees saw the Spaniards returning to their ships, 
they flocked down on the sands and surrounded the lucky 
cotton-peddler with gestures of astonishment and admira- 
tion at the wonderful riches he now possessed. The latter 
gesticulated freely, pointing to the vessels and then to the 
trinkets on his person, and held up the ball of yarn in tri- 
umph, as much as to say that all that glory had cost him 
nothing. 

" I sent this man back on shore and gave him these pres- 
ents," the Admiral explains, " because I wanted the natives 
to think that we are good people, and that the other man 
(the interpreter) had only run away from us because he 
was our prisoner for having done some damage to us ; and so 
they all might have a kindly opinion of us, and should not 
make trouble if your Highnesses should send anybody to this 
island again. After all, everything I gave him was not worth 
four maravedies." Plainly it was a good investment of five 
cents, for nothing that the fugitive interpreter could now 
say about the strangers would be believed by the people of 
Conception. Had not the white men sent back their boats 
unharmed, and loaded their fellow-countryman with magnifi- 
cent presents, and all this without accepting payment ? The 
poor San Salvadorian would find few to credit him when he 
tried to make his hearers believe that the Spaniards were 
only men like themselves. 

As soon as his party returned from putting the savage 
ashore, the Admiral made sail for the larger island he had 
seen to the west. It was only ten o'clock in the morning, 



146 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

and he hoped to reach it early in the evening, as it did not 
appear to be more than thirty miles away ; but light winds 
and adverse currents consumed the whole day, and the fleet 
did not approach its shores until after dark. Like the 
prudent sailor he was, the Admiral would not come too 
closely to an unknown coast in the night, so the squadron 
stood on and off alongshore until daylight. 

They were about half-way between Conception and the 
new island, when they overtook a single savage in one of 
the small canoes, paddling quietly along over that wide 
stretch of open sea as though it were a landlocked lagoon, 
and evidently bound for the same shores as themselves. 
When the flagship came up, he made signs, asking to be 
taken up and carried with them; so the Admiral ordered 
both him and his canoe to be taken in. In the latter the 
sailors found a piece of mandioca bread, the size of a fist ; 
a gourd of fresh water; a bunch of the precious dried 
leaves, of which the Spaniards had received so many at San 
Salvador ; ^ and a lump of the red clay with which the 
savages painted themselves. The Admiral directed that 
these trifles should be left just as they were, and had the 
man brought into his cabin. He, nowise abashed, showed 
Colon a little basket in which were carefully preserved a 
string of beads and two blancas, or Spanish coins of copper ; 
making signs that he had paddled from San Salvador to 
Conception, and was now bound for the island ahead, 
apparently carrying the news of the white men's arrival, 
and taking their presents to show what treasures they had 
brought. The Admiral gave orders that their passenger 
should be treated with the utmost kindness, and caused 
bread, honey, and wine to be served to him as an improve- 

1 This the first mention of tobacco occurs in the diary of Columbus 
under date of October 15; although, as appears from the allusion, his 
quick eye had discerned the value attached to the plant by the natives 
of Guanahani, on the very day of his landing. In recording the con- 
tents of the canoe referred to in the text above, Columbus writes : " and 
a few dry leaves, which must be something much prized by them [the 
natives] ; /or they had already brought me some in San Salvador, as a 
present." 



AMONG THE ISLES OF IND. 1 47 

ment upon mandioca and water. When the island was 
neared in the evening, he gave him fresh presents, and put 
him overboard in the canoe to paddle ashore at once. 
" And this I did," he writes after doing so, '' so that he may 
give good reports of us, in order that when others come 
here for your Majesties, they shall be received with honor, 
and the natives shall freely give them whatever they possess, 
if it please God." Had the Spaniards and their imitators 
always acted with such prudence, the early history of 
America would have been less blood-stained than it so 
unhappily is. 

In the present instance the wisdom of such a policy was 
immediately apparent. Shortly after the savage had reached 
land, several canoes put off to the vessels as they lay hove to 
near the shore, bringing with them water and such articles 
as they had to barter ; and this they kept up all night long. 
The Admiral gave orders that all who came should be fed 
and presented with some trifle of beads or bells, in conse- 
quence of which the natives were hugely delighted. Early 
in the morning the ships came to anchor near a village on 
the beach, and a party of men were sent ashore to get a 
supply of water. On seeing them land, the inhabitants ran 
to meet them, and vied with one another in showing the 
strangers where the best springs were, and in carrying their 
water-casks down to the boats, — seeming proud when 
allowed to do anything for the visitors. When the boats 
returned to the ships, the Admiral hoisted sail and started 
to explore the coast. This island was so much larger than 
either San Salvador or Conception, that he thought it worthy 
to be named after the King of Spain, and so called it 
Fernandina.^ The people were of the same race as those of 
the other islands ; but they seemed more fearless and some- 
what more advanced in their way of life, weaving their 
cotton into coarse cloth, and wearing aprons of this material 
about their waists. They were keener traders also ; for the 
Admiral remarks that when they brought their trifles on board 

^ This island has been identified with the modern Exuma. Con- 
ception still retains the name given it by Columbus. 



148 IVITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the ships " they knew how to bargain and dispute about the 
payments, which the others did not do." The interpreters 
had given him to understand that beyond this island was 
still another, with a great city called Samoet, where was 
great store of gold. Not only did the inhabitants wear it 
around their arms and ankles, but also in their noses and 
ears and about their necks. When he questioned the 
natives of Fernandina about this city, they made signs as 
if to confirm the story, and all on board the fleet were 
impatient to reach the scene of so great wealth. That this 
was a mistake of the Spaniards, the fruit of their absorbing 
desire to find the promised abundance of the coveted gold, 
it is scarcely necessary to say ; for Samoet was later found 
to be only the native name for Fernandina. At present the 
Admiral knew nothing of this. " These islands are very 
green and fertile, and blessed with a delightful climate," he 
entered this day in his diary ; " but I do not wish to delay 
in my search for as many islands as possible, and examining 
them to find gold. Since these natives make such signs 
that it is worn by the people of the other islands on their 
legs and arms, — and I am sure it is gold they speak of, for 
I have shown them some of it which I have, — I cannot fail, 
with the help of Our Lord, to find the place where it grows." 
With this object in view he determined to coast along 
Femandma for a while, and then steer for the famous isle of 
Samoet. It was his intention to sail around the southern 
end of the former island ; but Martin Alonzo came along- 
side, as the ships were getting under weigh, and told him 
that one of the interpreters who had been assigned to the 
" Pinta," insisted by his signs that the quickest way to reach 
the land of gold was by the northern end of Fernandina ; so 
the fleet sailed in that direction. 

Coasting leisurely along, they came to a sheltered harbor, 
which so attracted the Admiral's sailor-eye that he decided 
to explore and sound it. Taking all the small boats of the 
fleet, he examined it carefully, and then went on shore, fasci- 
nated by the beauty of the situation. A group of natives 
had gathered to see the Spaniards land ; and when the 



AMONG THE ISLES OF IND. 1 49 

sailors indicated that they wished to fill their water-casks, 
offered to show them the way to the springs. The Admiral 
and his party remained behind to admire the astonishing 
richness and variety of the strange vegetation which sur- 
rounded them, finding at every step some new occasion for 
delight and admiration. On returning to the flagship, the 
Admiral wrote : — 

"While the men were away getting the water, I wandered 
among the trees, which were the most beautiful things to look 
at that I ever saw. They are very different from those we are 
accustomed to, and many of them have several kinds of branches 
springing from a single trunk, — one branch of one sort and 
another of another, so that it is the greatest marvel in the world 
to see them. One branch will have leaves like a cane-stalk, and 
another like a gum-tree and so on, half a dozen kinds on one 
trunk. These are not grafted, for one can tell when a graft is 
made •, but they grow wild in this manner, and the people pay 
no attention to them. The fishes also are entirely different from 
ours; some are like cocks, of the most beautiful colors imagina- 
ble, — blue, red, yellow, and every other color ; and some painted 
in a thousand fashions. The colors are so perfect that there is 
not a inan among us who is not astonished at them, and does 
not delight in seeing them. Off the islands there are also 
whales ; but on land I saw no animals of any kind except lizards 
and parrots, although one of the sailors told me he had seen a 
large snake." 

What the Admiral took for different kinds of branches and 
leaves growing on the same tree were clearly the orchids, 
vines, and countless parasites which cover the trees of a trop- 
ical forest wherever a bough or a knot or any roughness of 
the bark offers them lodging-place. Where the situation 
was favorable we have counted a hundred and fifty of these 
intruders on a single very large trunk ; to all appearance 
part and parcel of the parent stem, and yet each differing 
entirely from the others in leaf and flower. To one who 
had never heard of anything of the kind before, it is not 
singular that the trees seemed to be the work of miracle. 

The seamen, on returning from the springs, told the 
Admiral that the natives had led them inland to a village 



I50 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

and filled their casks. The houses were well made, in the 
shape of a tent, with openings in the roof for ventilation, 
and were kept very clean and neat inside ; having sus- 
pended from their walls a kind of net which the people used 
in place of beds.^ They also reported that they had seen 
dogs in the village which did not bark ; and these, as the 
Admiral notes, were the first animals thus far encountered. 

One of the seamen said that they had met a savage who 
had a flat piece of gold, like the half of a Spanish doubloon, 
hanging from his nose, on which were stamped some letters 
which he could not distinguish. In an instant the Admiral 
was aroused ; that piece of gold with the mysterious letters 
might furnish him with a clew to where they were, and be 
the means of their finding their way to the cities of the 
Grand Khan. 

" How is it," he asked sharply of the men, " that you 
failed to bring me that golden coin? Know you not that I 
would give all the savages might ask to have those letters 
in my hand and learn whence they had come ? " 

" If it please your Nobility," the man replied respectfully, 
" we offered all we had to get it for your Worship ; but the 
savage refused to part with it for all we had to offer, and 
made signs that he dared not let us have it. Your Worship 
has forbidden us to take aught by violence, or easily might 
we have obtained the piece, for we were armed and they 
were naked." 

" In that you acted rightly," the Admiral answered, anxious 
to maintain the spirit of discipline ; " yet gladly would I 
have paid dear for the trinket. Another time bring such a 
man to me or to the other captains, and let us see if we 
cannot deal with him." 

Colon was greatly annoyed at losing this bit of gold, and 
shows as much in his diary ; but it is very doubtful if it would 
have been of any service to him. What the sailors thought 
were letters was probably nothing more than the rude orna- 
mental lines which some of the tribes on the mainland cut 

^ These were called hajnacs by the natives; whence our term for 
them. In Brazil they still go by the name of redes, or nets. 



AA/OA^G THE ISLES OF IND. I 5 i 

on their golden ornaments, as well as on their pottery and 
other handiwork. We have seen that they travelled from 
one island to another, and this nose-jewel may have come 
from a quarter where the people were more skilled in the 
arts than on the lesser islands ; so the matter was not so 
important, in all likelihood, as the Admiral esteemed it. 
His attention, however, was fixed on this one metal for the 
present, and he passes by with a bare mention the abun- 
dance of a grain which apparently was sowed and gathered 
throughout the year. Cotton, tobacco, and corn — the 
three products which have contributed most to establish the 
gigantic commerce of the continent he discovered — were 
classed by the great navigator as trifles of no especial value. 
Taking their course again along the coast, the fleet sailed 
on until a thick haze with heavy showers of rain obliged 
them to put off to a safer distance from land, and thus they 
kept on all that afternoon and night. The next morning 
they stood in again near shore, and coasted on around the 
island. They made no landing that day ; but when evening 
drew on came to anchor as a measure of precaution. On 
the following day, the 19th of October, the fleet left the 
island of Fernandina and put out to sea, heading eastward 
in search of that famous Samoet of which such alluring tales 
were told. A few hours after sailing they came in sight of 
another large island, and by noon had reached its coast. 
This, the interpreters explained to the Admiral, was Samoet 
itself, and he named it Isabella ^ in honor of his royal 
patroness. Following along its shores, he reached toward 
evening a noble harbor surrounded by wide beaches of 
sand, and here he anchored for the night. There were 
no indications of a town visible, much less of so great a city 
as he was looking for ; but the interpreters insisted by their 
gestures that not far off was a great city where dwelt the 
king who had such stores of gold. The Admiral was begin- 
ning to grow somewhat suspicious of these repeated tales of 
kings and treasures, although his anxiety to find them would 

1 The island now known as Isla Larga. 



152 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

not permit him to disbelieve wholly the stories of his inter- 
preters. He wrote on the afternoon of his arrival : — 

" In the morning I am going alongshore until I can see and 
talk with this king, who, according to what they tell me with 
their signs, is lord over all these islands hereabouts, and is prop- 
erly clothed, and wears much gold about his person. Never- 
theless I do not put entire faith in what they tell me, not only 
because I cannot understand well what they say, but because I 
see that they themselves are so poor in gold that however little 
this king might have it would seem to them like a great deal. 

" This cape, which I call Beautiful, I take to be an island 
apart from Saomet, and conceive that there are others yet be- 
tween ; but I do not attempt to examine everything in detail, for 
I could not hope to do it in fifty years, and I wish to see and 
discover the most that is possible, so as to return to your High- 
nesses in April, God willing. It is true, however, that if I find 
any place where there are gold and spices in plenty I shall 
remain until I have collected all I can ; and thus it is that I do 
not do otherwise than sail on until I come to such a place." 

No doubt crossed the Admiral's mind that he was cruis- 
ing among the islands of the Eastern Indies off the Asiatic 
coast ; and from the time he discovered Fernandina we find 
him constantly calling the natives " Indians," ^ as day by day 
he enters in his journal the incidents of his explorations. 

1 Columbus first uses the term on the 17th of October, — " All these 
Indians I am taking with me." 




XIII. 

IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. 

" '' I ""HIS cape where I have come to anchor I have called 
jL Cape Beautiful," the Admiral wrote that night, " for 
so it is ; and I did not anchor before, as I saw it from a 
great distance so green and lovely that I came hither. But 
such are all the other lands on these islands, and everything 
about them ; so that I do not know in which direction to 
steer first, for my eyes never weary of seeing these beautiful 
forests which differ so greatly from our own." The next 
morning, as soon as the sun was up, the fleet weighed anchor 
and stood along the coast in search of the city of the king. 
Point after point was passed, and beach after beach, but no 
vestiges of town or capital appeared. At night the two 
smaller vessels anchored, being able to run in close to shore 
by reason of their lighter draught ; but the flagship was 
hove to at a safer distance from land, as running a greater 
risk from rocks and shoals. The next day, Sunday the 
2 1 St, they all made sail together and coasted along until 
they reached a favorable harbor, where they came to anchor 
again. After breakfast the Admiral and his lieutenants went 
ashore and visited a village which was near at hand. The 
savages fled at the approach of the Spaniards, and the latter 
examined the houses at their leisure. Their commander 
repeated his stringent orders that nothing should be dis- 
turbed. " I would not let them take so much as the value 
of a pin," he writes. In his eyes this island was yet more 
beautiful than any they had seen ; and he refers again and 



I 54 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

again to the immense size of the trees, and the fact that 
everything was fresh and green, with the flowers all in bloom, 
although at this season winter was setting in in Europe. 
Some of the birds sang so enchantingly that no one wanted 
to return to the boats ; while the parrots and others of gay 
plumage seemed countless in number and variety. In the 
midst of the forests several charming lakes were discovered, 
their placid surfaces framed in circles of densest green. As 
they strolled along the banks, the men started up a wonder- 
ful reptile, like the basilisk of fable, which took to the water, 
where it was followed and speared to death. So extraor- 
dinary a beast was this that the Admiral directed that the 
hide should be kept to be taken to the Spanish sovereigns 
as a curiosity. From his description their quarry seems to 
have been a large iguana, — truly a startling apparition when 
seen for the first time. Some of the men found also the 
aloes plant, which they told Colon was of much value in Spain 
for medicinal purposes ; so he directed them to gather a 
large quantity and take it on board the ships. Certain of 
the trees, as well, he thought looked like spice- trees, but he 
did not venture to gather their fruits, as he knew httle of 
such matters. As the party continued on their way, the 
natives — or the Indians, as we may call them on the Ad- 
miral's authority — appeared in groups, watching distrust- 
fully the progress of these miraculous white beings. To one 
who came up boldly to the Spaniards a present of beads 
and other trinkets was given, and at his demonstrations of 
delight the others drew near with confidence. The better 
to establish amity, Colon gave them each some gift, making 
signs that his men wished water for drinking ; so they quickly 
provided themselves with gourds, and showed themselves 
anxious to gratify their visitors. 

At, yet there was no sign of gold or king, and the Admiral 
decided to sail around this island, as he had done at Fer- 
nandina, in search of the city where both were to be found. 
His interpreters now made him understand that to the south 
of Isabella was another and very much larger country which 
they called Cuba, which contained ten great rivers and was 



IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. I 55 

SO extensive " that they could not paddle around it in twenty 
days ; " and he decided to make sail in that direction as soon 
as he had finished his exploration of the present island. 
The Admiral writes : — 

" Although my Indians call it Cuba, I believe, from the signs 
they make, that this must be Cipango. They say that in that 
place are to be found many ships and merchants, and very great, 
and near it is another large island, which they call Bohio; but 
this and the others which they say he between here and Cuba I 
can visit as I sail thither. According to whether I find plenty 
of gold and spices, I shall then determine what to do. But at 
all events I am decided to go to the mainland and visit the city 
of Quimsay, and dehver the letters of your Majesties to the 
Grand Khan and ask him for a reply, and return to Spain." 

Well might his friend and historian, Las Casas, note on the 
margin of the Admiral's diary, " All this is gibberish to me ! " 
So fixed in Colon's mind was this one prevailing idea of his 
being near the continent of Asia, that not even the new dis- 
appointment he had just suffered, in finding the people of 
Saomet naked and treasureless like all whom he had met, 
could shake his conviction that the great island he had heard 
of called Cuba was Japan itself, and that China and India — 
the kingdoms of the Khan — must lie not far away. What- 
ever we may think of his geography, we cannot but envy his 
faith and perseverance. 

As for his interpreters, they were doubtless doing all in 
their power to gratify him. They saw the Spaniards evi- 
dently anxious to go from island to island, and so pointed 
out the direction of one after another without having any 
idea of what their masters really wanted. If a piece of gold 
was shown to them, they would nod their heads and point 
toward another island. When they had reached this, and 
the Spaniards had explored it and made new signs that they 
wanted " more," the Indians would nod their heads again 
and point somewhere else. Savages who were unable to 
count as high as ten could have no very definite conception 
of what constituted much or little ; the gold was no great 
treasure to them, and when they had showed a few men 



156 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

wearing it in their ears or noses they felt that they had done 
all that was desired of them. What could these white people 
want with that yellow stuff, anyhow? It was soft and good 
for nothing, and no brighter than the polished armor and 
weapons of which the strangers had such a plenty ; without 
taking into count their fabulous wealth of other still richer 
things, such as beads and bells and needles ! And so, no 
doubt, these poor interpreters fancied they were doing ad- 
mirably, and continued with their simple process of answer- 
ing the questions they did not understand. Now that they 
were at Saomet they pointed southward and said, " Cuba ; " 
and Colon, thinking it sounded like " Cipango," read ships 
and merchants and countless wealth in the signs they made. 
For all he knew, they might have been telling him how many 
canoes had taken part in the last foray executed by the 
natives of the great island against their neighbors. 

" All last night and all to-day have I been waiting here at 
anchor," the Admiral wrote on the day following his arrival 
in Isabella, " to see whether this king or any of his people 
would bring me gold or anything else of value." But these 
islanders were like the others, naked and poor, painted in 
all the colors of the rainbow, and offering nothing more 
valuable for exchange than javelins and cotton. When the 
sailors would give them a bit of broken glass or a fragment 
of a cracked pot, the Indians would hand it from one to 
another as though it were some divine treasure. Now and 
again a savage appeared with a little scrap of beaten gold 
stuck through a hole in his nose or ear, and this he very 
willingly exchanged for a tiny bell or a few colored beads ; 
" but it was at best so little that it was almost nothing," the 
admiral writes in some disgust. The winds were light and 
contrary, and the ships could not leave their present berth. 
The sailors went ashore again for water and to gather more 
aloes, and Martin Alonzo killed another iguana ; but nothing 
occurred to be recorded. All day long, too, the rain poured 
down in torrents ; and in the midst of their discomfort the 
sailors remarked that the air was warm even then, and were 
surprised that it did not grow chilly. On the morning fol- 



IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. 1 57 

lowing, finding that the wind died away and a dead calm set 
in, the Admiral abandoned his intention of sailing around 
Isabella, and decided to head direct for Cuba as soon as a 
breeze sprang up. He wrote : — 

" I have made up my mind not to sail around this island as I 
had intended, in order to search for the city and have inter- 
course with this king or lord, since that would delay me a great 
deal and I perceive that there is no mine of gold in this country. 
Besides, to sail around these islands many kinds of wind are 
necessary, and the wind will not always blow the way men want 
Moreover, it is. not worth while to remain here longer, as I am 
going to where there is commerce to be had on a large scale 
and to find a country which will be very profitable. For all that. 
I believe that this island might prove lucrative enough in spices ; 
but I know nothing about these, for which I am more grieved 
than I can say." 

Here we find the Admiral clearly in doubt as to which 
was the best course to pursue, with his own feeling plainly 
in favor of abandoning the lesser advantage for what he 
hoped should prove a greater. The winds decided the mat- 
ter for him ; for at midnight a fresh breeze was blowing, 
and, hoisting all sail, he stood away to the southwest in 
search of what he was satisfied must be Japan. 

The wet season in those latitudes had by this time set in, 
and the rainstorms were frequent and violent, while the winds 
were uncertain and fitful. The Admiral persisted in his at- 
tempts to get from his interpreters some intelligent knowl- 
edge of the great island for which he was bound, and was 
more and more convinced that it was indeed Cipango. " I 
am sure," he writes, " from the signs made not only by my 
own Indians but by the people of all these other islands 
that this must be that Cipango of which such marvellous 
tales are told ; and from the globes and maps of the world 
which I have seen in Europe I know that it must be some- 
where in this neighborhood." His impatience to catch a 
sight of the famous country increased as the ships lay idly 
on the quiet waters of the Bahama Sea in the dead calms 
which now befell them ; and whenever a favorable breeze 



158 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

sprang up he crowded on every inch of canvas that his 
sticks would hold, detailing in his journal with a true sail- 
or's delight all the sails he spread upon masts and yards 
to give his vessel the greater speed. On the 25th of Octo- 
ber he came upon a group of seven or eight little islands 
surrounded by such wide- stretching shoals that he called 
them the Isles of Sands,' and here he anchored overnight. 
His Indians now represented that from here to Cuba was 
only a voyage of a day and a half in their canoes, and he 
was correspondingly elated at the news. From their ges- 
tures he gathered that the country he was approaching was 
very extensive indeed, and rich in gold and pearls. Be- 
yond all doubt, he repeats, this is Cipango. Setting sail 
on the morning of the 26th, the fleet kept on steadily all 
that day and night and the next day. Toward evening of 
the 27th they came in sight of land, which the interpreters 
said was the country they were seeking, and the Admiral 
steered direct for the coast. On the morning of the 28th 
they were off the mouth of a large river, and into it the 
vessels steered and came to anchor. 

" So beautiful a country I have never seen," the Admiral 
writes ; and in saying this he does no discredit to his expe- 
rience, — for the western end of that noble island as viewed 
from the sea in the earlier hours of daylight is truly a vision 
of rarest loveliness. The keen eye of the great discoverer 
wandered past glittering beaches of whitest sand, over the 
undulating surface of luxuriant forests, to where broad slopes 
of brightest emerald led gently upward in ever-mounting 
terraces to the verdure- covered foothills and frowning pre- 
cipices of the gloomy sierras farther inland. The light 
mists of morning which veiled the lower levels were slowly 
dissipated as the sun gained strength, and along the forbid- 
ding faces of the loftier ranges the rising vapors were 
blown in softly rolling clouds, save where here and there 
embosomed in some steep and sheltered valley, they hung 
smooth and motionless. The contrast between the bright- 
ness which flooded the sea and sand and sunlit woods 

^ Presumably the cays of the Great Bahama Bank. 



IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. I 59 

and the shadows of the mighty rocks and deep gorges of 
the distant mountains grew quickly less as the morning ad- 
vanced ; but even the full glare of broad daylight could not 
wholly dispel the purple shades which lingered in the far 
recesses of the rugged interior. The scene recalled to Co- 
lon's mind the majestic beauty of the Sicilian coasts and the 
familiar grandeur of the noblest scenery in the sierras of 
Granada ; although, he hastens to add, the landscape before 
his eyes was by far the fairest that mortal sight had ever 
rested upon. Anxious to know more of a land which of- 
fered such a vision of delight, he quickly embarked in his 
barge and went on shore. Close down to the river's edge 
came the dense forest of the tropics, — a riotous confusion 
of buttressed trunks and festooned vines, twisted roots and 
thorny undergrowth, of blossoming boughs and swaying 
orchids, — all mirrored in the polished surface of the 
stream below. The splashing of the sailors' oars alarmed 
a multitude of gayly painted birds which gleamed in the 
sunlight as they swept into the shelter of the woods, while 
from all quarters came the chatter and music of a thousand 
unseen others. The Admiral landed at the river's mouth, 
and took possession of the country with due formality, call- 
ing it Juana, after the young Prince Royal of Spain. A 
few canoes had put out from shore as the fleet came to 
anchor ; but when they saw the boats manned and headed 
for the beach, the frightened natives paddled back and 
sought safety in their pathless forest. Near the landing- 
place the Spaniards found two huts, which from their con- 
tents must have belonged to fishermen, for they contained 
nets and lines made from the fibre of palm-trees, hooks of 
bone, rude harpoons, and other fishing-gear. The huts had 
one apartment only, but were of unusual size ; and from the 
number of fires smouldering about the floor the Spaniards 
concluded that several families lived together under a single 
roof The only living thing visible was a dumb dog of sin- 
gular appearance, and the sailors would have carried it off" 
except for the Admiral's orders that everything should be 
left untouched. Going back to the barge, he had his men 



I60 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

row him for some distance up the river, scrutinizing closely 
all he saw, and enjoying with keen appreciation the prodigal 
beauty of his surroundings. " It was such a delight to be- 
hold all that freshness and those wonderful forests with their 
multitude of birds," he writes, "that I could with difficulty 
turn back to go on board the ships," He noted several 
plants and wild- flowers like those of Europe, and remarked 
that in several places, even along the seashore, the grass 
grew long and fresh close down to the water's edge ; from 
which he concluded that no furious tempests could ever 
rage there, for otherwise the beaches would everywhere be 
swept bare of vegetation. The palms, too, he obser^fed, were 
far more sightly than those of Southern Europe and the Af- 
rican coasts, as here their trunks were clean and straight, 
and not cumbered with the ugly growth of dead fibre which 
disfigured those of the older world. Fascinated with his 
morning's experience, he reluctantly gave orders to row 
back to the ships. He was fully persuaded that he had at 
length reached Cipango. In the bald and scarred faces of 
the remoter mountains he believed lay hidden mines of gold, 
and on the beach near the fishers' cabins he had seen large 
piles of mussel-shells. What could be clearer than that 
these were the source from which were drawn the famous 
pearls of the Orient? When he showed them to the In- 
dians on the "Santa Maria" they made signs that people 
came from ten days' distance off to seek them. To the 
Admiral's eager mind this obviously meant that China was 
only that far away ; the ships of the Great Khan, of course, 
came hither to get these pearls and other treasures, and 
took t! em back to the kingdom of Cathay. A rash con- 
clusion to draw from a few empty shells and a range of 
distant mountains, you will say ; but we must bear in mind 
the extn ordinary coincidence that Colon had found this 
great i ' nd and its lesser neighbors very nearly where the 
charts showed him Japan should lie, and that the wonder- 
ful novrUy of everything about him showed conclusively 
that he had reached a new and marvellous region. As he 
had nc ' --am of any other land than Asia in this direction, 



IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. l6l 

it is not singular that he should have taken Cuba for the 
great Asiatic island, and looked confidently to find within a 
few days' sail the eastern continent itself. Firm in this 
belief, and impatient to reach the capital of the country 
and meet its king, he now weighed anchor and sailed 
westward along the coast. Just as he had named after Our 
Saviour the first land he touched at on this cruise, so now he 
called by the same all-powerful name the first landing he had 
made, as he supposed, on the wondrous shores of Cipango. 

The next day, as the squadron sailed along the coast as 
near the land as it seemed prudent to go, they came upon 
another and larger river, which offered an ideal harbor. 
Coming to anchor within its mouth, the Admiral took his 
barge and rowed up it some distance before going on shore. 
Finding that the salt water entered it as far as he had gone, 
he called the stream the River of the Tides, and noted with 
pleasure its suitableness for a naval station. He had taken 
with him one of his interpreters, as a village was situated 
near the river's mouth, and he desired to hold communica- 
tion with the inhabitants ; but as the boat drew near the 
beach, the natives fled to the woods, and all efforts to find 
them were unavailing. The houses in this settlement were 
the largest and best built that the Spaniards had thus far 
seen ; and this confirmed the Admiral's conviction that he 
was drawing steadily nearer to the great cities of the Indies 
which Marco Polo had described. They were carefully 
thatched with palm-leaves, clean and tidy within, and ar- 
ranged with some approach to the regularity of streets. 
From their contents they too were occupied each by several 
families, and their residents were engaged in fishing. Be- 
sides the dumb dogs already seen, the sailors found many 
tame birds of odd appearance hopping about the dwellings. 
What surprised them most was a number of statuettes of 
women which they saw in the houses carved out of wood, 
and a quantity of grotesque masques sculptured from the 
same material. Whether these were meant as idols, or were 
used in the native sports, the Admiral could not decide ; 
but he argued also, from the presence of these tokens of a 



1 62 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

higher grade of intelligence, that he was approaching the seat 
of government, or at least some city of importance. The 
large skulls of what appeared to be cattle hung on the walls 
of several of the cabins ; and this he thought an additional 
indication of increasing civilization, for he had seen no signs 
of flocks and herds before. Cheered by these observations, 
he returned on board ship. with high hopes of reaching the 
territories of the Khan erelong. In his diary that evening 
he dwelt on the beauty of all about him, — the profusion of 
brilliant flowers and gaudy birds, the sweet flavor of the 
fruits, the stately character of the forest-trees. Even at 
night, he adds, the delicious perfume from the woods and 
the ceaseless music of the crickets filled all on the squadron 
with delight. His crickets were doubtless for the most part 
katydids and frogs; but at a little distance away the noc- 
turnal concert of those forests is grateful to more exacting 
ears than the Admiral's were at that period. The climate 
was all that could be wished, he says, — the days neither 
hot nor cold, but more temperate than those he had passed 
on the other islands ; and this he ascribes to the vicinity of 
such lofty mountains. Altogether he was disposed to find 
something to praise and extol at every turn. Even the 
waters of the ocean near the mouths of the rivers he thought 
seemed to be fitted by nature for the growth of the rarest 
qualities of pearls ! 

The next day the fleet continued toward the west until 
they came in sight of a lofty headland which closed the view 
ahead. As they stood for this, the " Pinta " hailed the flag- 
ship, and Martin Alonzo came on board the latter. He was 
full of a grand discovery he had made regarding the land 
along which they were coasting. It was not the island of 
Cipango at all, but the veritable mainland of Asia, — the 
empire of the Khan. 

" Always under your Excellency's wiser judgment, Seiior 
Admiral," he said, feigning a submission he was far from 
feeling, " I take it to be a thing assured that this country is 
Asia itself, and not the island of Cipango. The Indian who 
sails with me as interpreter has made some progress with 



IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. 1 63 

our tongue, and learned to understand me with much cer- 
tainty. He makes me know that Cuba is not the name of 
an island, as your Worship has hitherto conceived, but that 
of a great city which lies four days' journey from the river 
which we shall find beyond the lofty cape for which we now 
are steering. This same heathen plainly says that the king 
of this country is constantly at war with the Great Khan, who 
would conquer the land and add it to his dominions. The 
Khan, my interpreter tells me, is here called Cami, which 
your Worship will see is but the same word altered to their 
manner of speech, and his capital is called by them Fava. 
Moreover he gave me many other names of towns and cities 
which I cannot bear in mind. But so great and joyful an 
intelligence I thought it right to bring without loss of time 
to your Excellency's knowledge." 

This piece of news coincided so exactly with the Admiral's 
wishes that he was ready enough to accept it for gospel 
truth. To be sure, he had supposed that Cuba was an 
island, and that it was beyond a peradventure Cipango, for 
so his charts gave him cause to believe. But he might easily 
have misunderstood his Indians as to the first point ; and 
the rough map he sailed by made no pretensions as to the 
exactness of its distances, so he might easily be nearer Asia 
than he fancied. Accordingly he adopted without hesita- 
tion the views of Martin Alonzo. 

" I give you hearty thanks, brave captain," he replied, 
" for this your love and diligence. The news you bring is 
indeed of the most welcome. Let us press all sail, and 
hasten to double the headland, that we may the sooner reach 
this river of which your Indian tells, and open intercourse 
with the city of this king." 

As the ships drew nearer to the cape, the Admiral reflected 
deeply over what his lieutenant had laid before him. The 
more he pondered, the more he was satisfied that he had 
mistaken the signs of his own interpreters, and that instead 
of Cuba being an island it was the continent itself. He re- 
called now that he was about in the latitude where Marco 
Polo had placed the kingdoms of the great Oriental prince, 



1 64 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

and judged that the cooler weather he had recently encoun- 
tered was additional evidence of his nearness to Cathay. 
Since the king of this country was at war with the Great 
Khan, it was obvious that the territories of the latter, with all 
their wealth and treasures, could not be very remote. He 
therefore determined that as soon as he had passed the 
cape and anchored in the river beyond, he would send a 
party to seek the city of which the " Pinta's " Indian had 
told Martin Alonzo, and that by their hands he would send 
some of the presents and letters which the Spanish sovereigns 
had given him to deliver to the potentates of the eastern 
realms which both they and he supposed would be reached. 
In casting about for the person who should best fulfil this 
embassy, he thought of one of his men who had been sent 
on a somewhat similar mission some years before when on 
a voyage to the Guinea coast. This man, with some of 
his Indian interpreters, he therefore resolved to send ; 
if they were successful in finding the king and establish- 
ing friendly relations with him, the Admiral would later 
on endeavor to open communication with the Great Khan 
himself. 

Rejoiced with this solution of his perplexities. Colon 
watched the grand and beautiful outlines of the Cuban coast 
slip slowly past his ships, never doubting for a moment now 
that somewhere beyond the mountains of that wild interior 
lay the populous cities of the Chinese Kingdom and the 
fabled riches of Far Cathay. Such robust structures can the 
imagination rear on the corner-stone of fancy, that he and 
his lieutenant both had built up the whole continent of Asia, 
with all its teeming millions, on the airy gestures of a naked 
savage. 

As though to warn them of their error, no sooner did they 
reach the distant headland than a strong adverse gale drove 
them back on their course. Seeing that it was hopeless to 
try to double it until a change of wind occurred, the Ad- 
miral led the way back to the safe harbor they had left 
earlier in the day at the River of the Tides, christening the 
point he had failed to pass the Cape of Palms, from the 



IN SEARCH OF FAR CATHAY. 1 65 

great forests of those trees which clothed its outHnes from 
base to summit.-^ 

1 The harbor of San Salvador entered by Columbus on first nearing 
the Cuban coast is supposed to have been either the modern Caravelas 
Grandes or the Bay of Nipe. His course along the northern shores 
of Cuba is not easy to follow in detail upon the charts of to-day ; but 
those interested will find it ably discussed by Mackenzie in the Ap- 
pendix to Irving's " Columbus," by Becher in his " Landfall of Co- 
lumbus," by Fox in the United States Coast Survey Reports for 1880, 
and by Murdock in the " Proceedings of the United States Naval In- 
stitute for April, 1884." These are all easily accessible ; but the student 
will wish to examine the arguments of Von Humboldt, Varnhagen, 
and the other foreign critics as well. 




XIV. 



THE EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN. 



THE next morning, the ist of November, as the 
Spaniards rowed toward the shore, the natives again 
deserted their village and took refuge in the woods, despite 
the Admiral's precautions on his previous visit to convince 
them of his kindly intentions. When the sailors had filled 
their casks with water and were returning to the ships, a 
single Indian emerged from behind the trees and stood 
watching their departure. Apparently he was acting as 
sentinel for his companions ; for he maintained stolidly his 
position, with his eyes fixed on the ships, as if waiting to 
see what the strangers should do next. After breakfasting 
the Admiral landed again, taking with him an interpreter to 
communicate with the solitary native who so persistently 
was observing their every movement. The interpreter as 
soon as he came within speaking distance called out that 
there was no cause for fear ; that the white men were not 
soldiers of the Great Khan, and would do no harm to the 
people of the village, but would rather make them rich 
presents, as they had done to the natives of the other islands, 
whose good friends they were. This, at all events, is the 
speech the Admiral told his own Indian to make. How 
much either the savage in the boat or the one on shore 
knew of the Tartar Emperor of China is problematical ; but 
no doubt the interpreter realized that he was to make friends 
with the man on the beach, and said as much to him. On 
hearing his declaration others of the natives left their hiding- 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN. 1 67 

places and drew near to the water's edge ; so the interpreter 
leaped overboard and swam ashore, where he was well re- 
ceived by them and conducted into one of the cabins near 
by. He must soon have convinced them that no harm was 
intended ; for shortly after a number of them came running 
down to the water, and launching fifteen or twenty of their 
canoes, paddled out to the boat, which returned to the ship 
followed by the whole flotilla. The savages, as usual, wished 
to barter their cotton and other possessions for the trinkets 
of the Spaniards ; but the Admiral forbade his men to take 
anything at all except gold. This he tried to make the In- 
dians comprehend was the only thing the strangers wanted. 
So far these people gave no signs of using it. One man 
alone had a piece of silver hanging from his nose ; and the 
Admiral found consolation in the reflection that there must 
at least be mines of that metal within reach. Throughout 
the day the savages kept up a constant intercourse with 
the fleet, and many of the Spaniards went on shore and 
strolled through the forest without molestation. From the 
gestures of his native guests the Admiral understood that 
their king lived at a distance of four days' journey from the 
river, and that they had sent to advise him of the arrival of 
the white men when the ships had anchored there for the 
first time. In three days more, they affirmed, — or he 
thought they did, — a large number of merchants would ar- 
rive from the capital to establish traffic with the Spaniards. 
This could only mean to his mind that he was on the borders 
of Cathay. All the natives of the other islands visited he 
had already observed were friendly to one another ; so evi- 
dently they were leagued together to resist the invasions 
which the Great Khan sent from the mainland to conquer 
them. Now that he found the people of Cuba of the same 
race and tongue, he felt confident that their country must 
be one of the easternmost provinces of Asia adjoining the 
kingdoms of the Khan, and imagined that in their wars with 
that powerful prince the natives of the islands came to their 
assistance, and they also helped the islanders at need ; in 
short, Cuba was now China, and the lesser islands were the 



1 68 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Celebes. The Khan of Tartary was at war with them all, 
sometimes directing his armies against the Chinese and some- 
times against the islands ; and all these copper-colored peo- 
ple were allied to repel his assaults on their independence. 
This was so obvious to the Admiral that he was anxious to 
make peace with the King of Cuba, and so open a road to 
the cities of the Khan himself. He writes in his diary : — 

" I am certain now that this is in fact the mainland, and that 
I must be somewhere near the cities of Zayto and Quimsay, 
which are about one hundred leagues apart. That this is the 
mamland is proved by the fact that the current of the ocean 
now comes from a direction contrary to what it formerly did ; 
and yesterday when we were sailing toward the northwest it grew 
colder as we advanced." 

China and Tartary, Japan and the Spice Islands, the cities 
of the Mongol prince and the treasures of the Indies, — with 
such splendid phantasies was the mind of Colon filled as he 
stood on the deck of his flagship watching the canoes freighted 
with naked savages plying to and fro over the surface of 
that beautiful harbor on the northern coast of the Pearl of 
the Antilles. There is something almost painful in the 
eagerness with which his sanguine mind discarded one illusion 
only to adopt another more groundless still ; but he reasoned 
from what he esteemed to be mathematical premises. He 
remarks : — 

" I took the altitude here last night with the quadrant, and 
found that we are twenty-one degrees above the equinoctial line. 
My calculations also show that we have sailed 1,142 leagues since 
leaving Ferro; and surely this is the mainland." 

Upon further reflection the Admiral determined to send 
his own messengers in search of the King of Cuba, instead 
of waiting for the arrival of the merchants promised by the 
nativ^es ; but he altered somewhat his intentions regarding 
the personnel of the embassy. Of late his Guanahani inter- 
preters had shown signs of restiveness, entreating him to 
return them to their homes ; and he feared that once they 
found themselves at a distance from the ships with but a 
single Spaniard, they might desert him altogether. He ac- 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN. 169 

cordingly chose the sailor, Rodrigo of Xerez, who had acted 
as ambassador on the Guinea voyage before referred to, and 
a converted Jew named Luiz de Torres, a man of much edu- 
cation, who spoke Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic, as well as 
Spanish. Marco Polo, the Venetian, when he was travelhng 
in China two hundred years before, had found numbers of 
Jews in the territories of the Grand Khan, and the Sara- 
cens were known to be neighbors of the Tartar ruler ; so the 
Admiral thought it probable that if his men succeeded m 
reaching the capital of Cuba, they should find some one 
who could speak one or the other of Torres's languages. With 
these two Europeans he sent one of his Guanahani inter- 
preters and a native of the village at the River of Tides to 
guide them through the country and testify to his compatriots 
as to the friendly dispositions of the white men. To his envoys 
the Admiral gave careful and minute instructions. They were 
to follow their guide to the royal city, provided the journey 
thither did not require more than three days ; under any 
circumstances he would look for their return on the sixth 
day. Upon reaching the Court they were to present them- 
selves before the king with becoming reverence, and inform 
him that the Sovereigns of Spain had sent their Admiral to 
these shores with a letter and many rich presents for the 
Cuban king, and that the Admiral solicited an audience with 
his Majesty in order to deliver these to him. They were to 
expatiate upon the glory and power of their Catholic Majes- 
ties, and to assure the king that the Spanish monarchs only 
desired to establish relations of friendship with him and his 
allies. Above all, the messengers were to explain to the 
king that the Spaniards who had arrived in Cuba had no 
connection, however remote, with the Khan of Tartary ; on 
the contrary, they would gladly make a league with the king 
with a view to establishing a profitable and enduring com- 
merce with his people. While on their journey the men 
were to keep a close watch for any signs of gold or other 
treasures, and were to bring back a careful report of all they 
saw, particularly around the royal Court. In order to show 
the king and his subjects what the white men chiefly de- 



I/O WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

sired, the envoys took with them small quantities of gold, 
spices, and pepper to serve as specimens. They were also 
well supplied with trinkets for paying their way and making 
presents, and an abundance of provisions. Having satisfied 
himself that his wishes were clearly comprehended, the Ad- 
miral gave the men his blessing, and they departed on their 
adventurous errand. Turning at the edge of the forest, they 
waved a farewell to their companions on the beach, and then 
following the footsteps of their savage guide, were lost in 
its depths. It is difficult for us nowadays to restrain a smile 
at the idea of looking for the Court of a Chinese monarch 
among the mountains of Cuba ; but we cannot fail to ad- 
mire the easy confidence with which these two men set out 
to seek for a savage city in the heart of so wild a country, 
and among a numerous population of whose real character 
they knew nothing. Whether it was contempt for the na- 
tives, or trust in the Saints, or sheer reliance on their own 
prowess, we cannot tell ; one thing is clear, that on this 
voyage and all later ones the early Spanish discoverers 
never heeded danger nor counted their foes. They went 
straight at whatever and whomsoever opposed them, as though 
their mind could not conceive the thought that they might 
fail. 

The next day, the 3d of the month, was devoted to ex- 
ploring the river and its banks. The Admiral was much 
pleased at finding an admirable place for beaching his ships 
and overhauling their hulls. He rowed on several leagues 
up the stream, until the summit of a lofty hill showing through 
the tree-tops suggested the possibility of securing an exten- 
sive view of the surrounding country. It was no easy task 
for him and his companions to make their way to the top of 
this eminence ; but they finally accomplished it, only to dis- 
cover that no view was possible on account of the dense 
growth which covered the whole hill. The Admiral did not 
begrudge the exertion, if we may judge by his record of the 
excursion ; for he declares that at every step he found some- 
thing new to admire in the bushes and trees about him, and 
that his eyes never wearied of watching the gorgeous birds 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN, lyi 

darting through the sunhght, and the vivid butterflies float- 
ing from shrub to shrub. The fragrant odors of the woods 
caused him to search on every side for nutmegs, pepper, 
and other spices, and he offered a reward to whomsoever 
should be the first to bring a specimen of any of these pro- 
ductions. A great breaking of branches and peeHng of 
bark at once ensued, the seamen in the party eagerly assail- 
ing every tree which seemed at all likely to yield any one 
of the precious condiments. In such pleasant fashion, row- 
ing and sounding on the river, strolling and studying on 
land, the Admiral and his party passed the day ; while on 
board the ships the sailors found amusement in trying to 
understand the savages who continued to swarm about the 
vessels offering whatever they possessed, from the dried 
leaves they held in such high esteem to their prettily netted 
" hamacs," in exchange for a few glass beads or a hawk's bell. 

The next morning the Admiral took his cross-bow and 
was rowed up the river to hunt for some of the beautiful 
birds he had seen the day before. Such splendid plumage 
was a rarity to him, and he thought that even the mighty 
Spanish monarchs would think them no mean present. 
After shooting as many as he could in the cool of the day, 
he returned to the flagship about ten o'clock, his usual hour 
for breakfast. Here he found Martin Alonzo awaiting him 
with another discovery ; for this Pinzon was a shrewd and 
dihgent man, ever on the lookout for advantage. This time 
he held two pieces of a reddish bark in his hand, which he 
showed to his leader with evident content. 

" Here at length is the true bark of cinnamon, your Wor- 
ship," he exclaimed. " One of my crew, a man of good 
sense though he is a Portuguese, has brought me this from 
shore. He says he met an Indian who had two bundles of 
it, and a quantity of red nuts besides, which my man judged 
to be spices ; but under your Worship's orders he dared not 
take them from the savage, even by way of barter." 

" These men of ours show little wisdom, Seiior Captain," 
the Admiral replied, showing some vexation. "This spice 
is of the rarest, and of an exalted value in all the marts of 



1/2 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Europe. I thank you for your notice ; but we must make 
our hard-heads know that when they meet with treasures 
they dare not take they must bring the bearers to us to deal 
with as is best. We of the command cannot be everywhere 
and our eyes be on everything at one single moment." 

" Your Worship knows the seaman's saying, Senor Ad- 
miral," Martin Alonzo answered, " that an order is an 
order, or else a waste of breath. Nevertheless, I am ever 
doing what in me lies to get my men to bring to me what- 
ever seems to them of value, and shall continue so to do, as 
your Worship wishes." 

The Admiral was annoyed that this discovery should 
amount to so little. Cinnamon at that period was one of 
the most precious objects brought to Europe by the cara- 
vans from Asia, and was almost worth its weight in gold. 
Perhaps some doubt of Martin Alonzo's entire truthfulness 
may have entered his mind as well ; for of late he had 
noticed a somewhat more independent manner in his lieu- 
tenant than he thought was due to himself as representative 
of the Spanish Crown. But he let this feeling pass, as he 
had done before ; and when the first-mate of the " Pinta " told 
him that he had found near the landing-place some trees 
which he believed were cinnamon, the Admiral went with him 
at once to see if indeed the costly bark grew near at hand. 
This time, too, he was disappointed ; for although the bark 
was fragrant and had a pungent taste, it clearly was not what 
the mate had thought. That the pieces secured by Martin 
Alonzo's sailor were the genuine article there was no doubt ; 
and calling the Indians about him, the Admiral showed them 
the bark as well as specimens of cloves and pepper, hoping 
that they might recognize them and indicate where they 
could be found. From their signs he understood the na- 
tives to reply that not far from there, in a southeasterly 
direction, great quantities of those things could be secured. 
Encouraged by the success of his experiment, he now 
showed them a piece of gold and a few pearls, and in- 
quired if they knew where such were to be had. Most of 
the Indians looked at the articles with stupid curiosity, as 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN. I'J^ 

if not seeing anything remarkable about them ; but some 
of the older men pointed again to the southeast, and made 
signs that in a place called Bohio a great plenty of these 
things could be had, the people in that country wearing 
them as ornaments around their limbs and necks or in 
their ears or noses. The Admiral also understood them to 
say that some of the tribes of Bohio had only one eye in 
the middle of their forehead, while others had heads hke 
dogs. All the enemies whom they captured in battle they 
beheaded, and after drinking their blood, cooked and ate 
their bodies. These monsters, he also gathered, had many 
large ships and much rich merchandise, and were altogether 
a powerful and wealthy nation. What meaning the Indians 
really intended to convey by the gestures which the Admiral 
interpreted in so extraordinary a manner, it would not be 
safe to conjecture ; apparently some reference was being 
made to the cannibal habits of the Caribs and their huge 
canoes. To Colon it was patent that they were talking of 
the Dog- heads and One -eyes of the Asiatic islands de- 
scribed by Mandeville and the Venetian, and he credited 
even more than he heard. The monsters had no terrors 
for him, implicitly as he might believe in their existence ; 
to Bohio he intended to sail at the earliest opportunity, 
unless his messengers should bring him satisfactory news 
of gold and treasures in the city they were visiting. So 
far he had met with nothing of real value at the River of 
Tides. There was an abundance of cotton, to be sure, 
which seemed to grow wild all the year round ; for he no- 
ticed the flowers, open balls, and green pods all growing on 
one tree ; and some of the other vegetable productions 
were good, especially a large root which tasted like chest- 
nuts when roasted, and would be a great boon in Spain ; ^ 
but all these bulky articles were not worth loading his ships 
with. What he wanted was gold and pearls, or, at the least, 
spices and silk. 

On the morning of the 5 th he ordered the vessels to be 
made ready for beaching ; the flagship was to be careened 

1 Probably the Yttcca. 



1 74 WITH THE ADMU^AL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

and calked first, and then the others in succession, so that 
there would always be two afloat ready for any emergency. 
While the "Santa Maria" was being warped on the sands, 
the mate of the " Niiia " came up to where the Admiral was 
watching the operation and saluted him. 

" By your Excellency's favor," the man said in some 
excitement, " I claim a reward." 

" A reward for what, good Maestro Diego ? " Colon an- 
swered. " Hast found the cinnamon forest or a mine of 
gold? There should be such hereabout, if all signs fail 
not." 

" If your Excellency pleases," Diego replied, " 't is not 
so good as gold ; but 't is better than the bark. If my eyes 
lied not, I have found the trees which bear the precious 
mastic gum ; but in my haste to get hither I have dropped 
the piece I gathered for your Worship." 

" Thy reward is none the less sure, Diego, if thou canst 
point out the place. I will ask Don Rodrigo to go with 
thee and note the fact in due form. Thou art very right 
in holding that thy news is welcome." 

Sending for the royal inspector, the Admiral requested 
him to accompany Maestro Diego to the spot where he had 
found the gum and certify to the fact of its existence. So 
rare anei valuable was mastic then esteemed, that its discov- 
ery would, the Admiral knew, be considered a matter of much 
importance by the Spanish sovereigns ; and he awaited with 
interest the report of Don Rodrigo Sanchez. When the 
latter returned he declared that beyond doubt the trees 
were of the true mastic kind, and he produced some of the 
gum and a branch of the foliage as evidence of the fact. 
These the Admiral carefully preserved for his royal patrons, 
granting without further discussion the promised reward to 
the fortunate discoverer. His desire to obtain the largest 
store possible of gold and gems did not in any wise blind 
him to the importance of these less valuable productions. 
His intention was, as we have seen, to return to Spain in 
April, and he naturally labored to take with him as great an 
amount of treasure as he could, as the most effectual 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN. 1 75 

answer practicable to the cavillings and criticisms with 
which his project had been assailed. On his return to " the 
Indies," which he planned should take place without loss of 
time, he would provide for the trade which he anticipated 
in the other merchantable articles. 

That same evening, as it was growing dark, the crew of 
the flagship, which was high and dry on the beach, heard 
some one hailing them from alongside. It proved to be the 
two envoys, Rodrigo de Xerez and Luiz de Torres, who had 
returned a day before the limit allowed them. A ladder 
was quickly lowered, and they clambered on board, accom- 
panied not only by the two Indians who had started with them, 
but by three others, who were presented to the Admiral 
as one of the principal chiefs of the city they had visited 
and his son, with a follower of theirs. When Colon saw 
that the strangers were naked and treasureless, he knew that 
he was as far as ever from finding the royal capital he was 
so anxious to reach ; but ordering refreshments to be brought 
his visitors and making them every sign of welcome and 
friendship, he called upon his messengers for their report 
of the journey. 

They had travelled, they told him, quite forty miles be- 
fore they came to the " city " the Indians had described. 
The road was a narrow path leading almost all the way 
through dense forests, though here and there they traversed 
broad savannas carpeted with grass and flowers. Such a 
variety of new and strange trees and plants they had passed, 
often covered to the topmost bough with aromatic blossoms, 
that they could not attempt to recount them. As for the 
birds, their number and kinds were infinite, — all wholly 
unlike any they had ever seen in Spain, except some 
partridges which they saw in a meadow and the night- 
ingales they heard in the woods as they marched along. 
The first two nights they slept in the forest, not wishing to 
stop at the little villages of four or five huts which they 
passed on the way, although the people seemed to be 
friendly, and showed no fear after their Indian companions 
had explained who they were. On the third day they 



1/6 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA 

reached a town which from the guide's information they 
knew to be the city to which they were bound. It consisted 
of only about fifty houses, constructed of canes and palm 
leaves, like all that they had seen, but very well built, and 
so large that each house contained at least twenty inhabi- 
tants. As they approached the place, the people flocked 
out to meet them to the number of a thousand or more, and 
after hearing the interpreter's declaration led them into the 
largest of these dwellings, the principal men of the town 
taking them by the arm as a mark of honor, When all the 
men were gathered within the house, the women were for- 
bidden to enter ; and the Spaniards were seated on stools 
in the midst of the apartment. One after another the sav- 
ages then pressed forward, kissing the white men's hands 
and feet, and touching them to see what manner of strange 
creatures they might be. From their gestures the envoys 
believed that the Indians supposed they had come down 
from the skies, — an error which the messengers do not 
seem to have corrected. After the first excitement had sub- 
sided, the savages all squatted on the floor in a circle around 
the strangers ; while the interpreter explained in a long 
harangue what great and powerful people these white men 
were, how wonderfully they lived, and what extraordinary 
treasures they possessed, assuring his hearers that they were 
the best beings in the world and true friends of the natives, 
to whom they gave magnificent presents, such as those he 
wore. He concluded by saying that they must take very 
good care of these miraculous visitors, and when they re- 
turned some of the chief governors of the town must go 
with them to see the great captain of the white men, and 
talk with him. This, at all events, is what the two Spaniards 
supposed their man was saying. The only thing they could 
be sure of was that he was talking about them, and that 
they had to sit still and look very important while five or 
six hundred eyes were staring them out of countenance. 
When this address was over, Luiz de Torres rose and exerted 
his eloquence in Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldean. The sav- 
ages listened with breathless admiration ; and if they made 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN: lyj 

no reply it was doubtless because not a soul present, not 
even his companion, understood a word of what he was 
talking about. After a becoming pause — meant prob- 
ably to testify their approval of the linguistic effort just 
closed — the Indians all rose and filed solemnly out of 
the building, and the women took their places. They also 
went through the same process of adoration, some of the 
hardier ones pinching the unhappy Spaniards to see if they 
were flesh and blood despite their singular appearance. 
When this ordeal was over, the women too sat down in a 
circle, and the interpreter told them also whatever he could 
remember or invent concerning their marvellous guests. 
After a while the men returned in force, and the wearied 
ambassadors were allowed to wander about the town and 
examine at their pleasure all that excited their curiosity. 
They showed the natives the cinnamon and spices they car- 
ried with them, and their hosts signified that in that neigh- 
borhood these were not to be found ; but as the Indians at 
the river had done, they indicated that off somewhere in the 
southeast these articles could be obtained in abundance. 
As for other cities and kingdoms or their treasures, the mes- 
sengers could learn nothing, and in the town itself was no 
vestige of king or Court. Some of the men seemed to have 
more authority than others ; but the people were much like 
all the savages they had thus far seen. They were plainly 
delighted with the presence of their guests, and showed 
them unstinted hospitality, setting before them the choicest 
dishes, pressing them to eat, and insisting that they must 
not leave them for several days. At night the strangers 
were lodged in their neatest cabins, and received every 
attention that it was in the Indians' power to bestow. 
When they started out the next morning to return to 
the River of Tides, the natives broke out into extrava- 
gant lamentations, more than half the population of the 
village, men and women alike, endeavoring to accompany 
the visitors in the conviction that they would lead them 
right up into the sky above. The Spaniards had to repel 
the excited multitude, and made signs that none should 



178 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

join them except a single chief, who brought with him his son 
and a companion, — no doubt for his greater safety. Both 
in going and coming they had met with many natives pass- 
ing between their villages ; and some of these had smoke 
• escaping from their mouths and nostrils in a truly diabolical 
fashion. They carried in their hands a " burning stick " and 
some of the dried leaves the white men had noticed so 
many times before, and they would put this stick in their 
mouths and blow out a cloud of smoke, which had a pleas- 
ant perfume. The interpreter explained that by so doing 
they experienced no fatigue when on their journeys ; but the 
whole matter had a heathenish look about it. As they came 
through the little villages on their way back, the savages 
showed them much kindness, which they requited by making 
trifling presents ; and now they had arrived unharmed and 
well at the ships. They ventured to hope that his Excel- 
lency the Senor Admiral was contented with the manner in 
which his orders had been executed. 

The men had done their work admirably, and this the 
Admiral told them ; but he was none the less chagrined at 
the insignificant results of their mission. He had looked for 
a powerful king and had found but one naked savage the 
more, for a wealthy city and had found a huddle of huts ! 
However, he was far from letting his disappointment be ap- 
parent. Turning to his savage guests who had accompanied 
the messengers, he loaded them with attentions, giving them 
a profusion of whatever they seemed most to like in eating 
and drinking, and making them presents of the trifles which 
pleased their fancy. From them he learned of other islands 
and countries in the adjoining seas, the most important of 
which he understood to be the land in the southeast, and 
thither he decided to steer as soon as his vessels were over- 
hauled. He was desirous of taking the new-comers with 
him on the voyage, and even to carry them to Spain to ex- 
hibit to the sovereigns as examples of the inhabitants of 
Cuba ; but as the night advanced, the savages became res- 
tive, and showed by signs that they wished to go on shore. 
Anxious not to offend them, the Admiral allowed them to 



EMBASSY TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCEJ^N. 1 79 

take leave, helping them over the ship's side with all the 
ceremony imaginable. As they parted from him, they 
signified that they would return in the morning ; but, as he 
writes with evident regret, " they never showed themselves 
again." 

Thus ended the first diplomatic mission undertaken in 
the New World. The Admiral had failed to find any trace 
of the treasures of Cathay ; but he had learned what use the 
Indians made of their " dried leaves." Many a jaded mor- 
tal who has tried their remedy for fatigue will bless the 
memory of the two ambassadors, as the " pleasant perfume " 
curls upward from his " burning stick " ! 




1 


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1 


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^^fl 



XV. 
THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. 

THE work of overhauling the three ships was completed 
by the 7th of November ; but a constant succession of 
contrary winds detained them in the harbor until the 12th. 
During this delay the Admiral continued to explore the 
forests of the neighborhood for further indications of valua- 
ble barks, gums, or fruits, and in especial tried to obtain a 
quantity of the gum-mastic discovered by Maestro Diego. 
In his younger days, when cruising in the Grecian Archi- 
pelago, Colon had visited the island of Chios, and observed 
the manner in which this gum was gathered ; for that island 
had nearly a monopoly of its production. He now turned 
this experience to practical use by sending his men into the 
woods with instructions how to tap the trees and collect the 
flowing sap. They cut into a vast iiumber of the trees with 
little return in the way of gum, which puzzled the Admiral 
until he noticed that the trees were in full fruit at the time, 
and that the sap would not run freely at that season. At 
the period of blossoming he was satisfied that they would 
yield countless tons of the fragrant resin, and that a large 
and profitable commerce could be established. In antici- 
pation of such a traffic, he remarked that the flat summit of 
a lofty rock near the entrance to the river afforded an ad- 
mirable site for a fortress. "Thus, if this should prove to 
be a valuable trade and worth the effort," he writes, " our 
merchants can come here freely, safe from the intrusion of 
any other nation. May Our Lord, in whose hands are all 



THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. l8l 

successes, arrange all this as shall be best for His glory ! 
One of the Indians made signs to me that this gum-mastic 
is very good to cure the stomach-ache," he adds with a 
rather abrupt change of thought. 

Charmed as he was with his present surroundings, and 
clearly as he perceived the value of this port for the pur- 
poses of regular commerce in the future, he was impatient 
to leave it and visit the new land of which the natives had 
recently spoken. Sometimes they seemed to call it Bohio, 
and at others Babeque ; but they always indicated that it 
was in the southeast, abounded in riches, was very extensive, 
and contained a numerous and ferocious population. After 
much misunderstanding and confusion, arising from certain 
irreconcilable differences between what his informants said 
at one time and at another, he came to the conclusion that 
Bohio was the name of that province of Asia lying east and 
south of Cuba ; while Babeque was the island lying farther 
off to the southeast. On this theory he subsequently acted, 
although it is not always easy to distinguish one place from 
the other in following his conjectures regarding them. Ba- 
beque was pre-eminently the home of gold. Here the 
precious metal "grew;" and so lavish was its profusion that 
the natives of that fortunate country collected it at night 
by torchlight along the beaches and beat it out with ham- 
mers into rods ! What was the meaning of the gestures 
which shaped themselves in the Admiral's mind to this ex- 
traordinary interpretation, it is useless to query ; but he had 
seen already so much that was mar\'ellous that this also was 
incorporated among his beliefs, and the search for Babeque 
became the leading motive of his immediate actions. 

He was beginning to lose some of his early confidence in 
the sincerity of the natives and the correctness of their 
declarations, and had more than once doubted whether his 
own interpreters were entirely frank in their statements to 
him. The urgency with which they joined the Cubans in 
lauding the greatness of Babeque aroused a suspicion that 
there was an ulterior motive behind so much enthusiasm, and 
he feared that they were planning to lead him to some island 



1 82 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

nearer to Guanahani, where they should be able to escape 
from their masters and make their way home. As a measure 
of precaution, he therefore resolved to take with him some 
of the natives of the village at the River of Tides. So on 
Sunday, the nth, when a canoe with six young men came 
alongside, as was the daily habit of the savages, he detained 
the five who came on board, and sent the one remaining in 
the boat back to land without his companions. Before the 
inhabitants fully realized his purpose, he also sent his barge 
ashore and seized seven women with three children, all of 
whom he took on his own vessel. This was simply a bald 
act of kidnapping, undefensible by any sophistry ; but the 
Admiral saw nothing censurable in the proceeding. The 
end more than justified the means, according to his way 
of thinking, and he was actuated, he believed, by praise- 
worthy motives. He writes with perfect candor : — 

" I did this because the men will behave better when they 
reach Spain if they have their wives with them than if they have 
not. Many times I have seen the natives of Guinea brought to 
Portugal to learn the language of the Christians ; but when they 
were taken back to act as interpreters, and the Portuguese 
counted on finding them useful because of the kind treatment 
shown them and the gifts they had received, they would run 
away as soon as they reached their native shores and never 
again appear. But if we have their wives, the men will be 
anxious to serve us well ; and besides the women will teach our 
own people the language, which is the same in all these islands 
of India, where the savages understand one another and travel 
about in their canoes. This is very different from what I have 
seen in Guinea, where there are a thousand separate languages 
and no one tribe understands another." 

He also argued that he was conferring an inestimable 
benefit on these poor heathen in enabling them to receive 
the Christian religion. He remarks : — 

" They have no religion at all, and are not even worshippers 
of idols ; but they are very superstitious, and believe that there 
is a God in heaven and that we came down from there to visit 
them. They follow us closely in all the prayers we say, and 



THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. 1 83 

make the sign of the cross after us, so that your Majesties 
ought to cause them to be converted to Christianity ; for I beheve 
that if this beginning is made, in a Httle while a great multitude 
of these nations shall be brought into our Holy Faith." 

The Admiral's intentions were plainly of the best, and 
he consistently showed great humanity to all the natives 
who came in contact with him ; but the fact remains that 
he took these and other savages captive without offence 
committed by them, and proposed holding the women as 
hostages for the good behavior of their husbands. Nor was 
he fortunate in the selection of his prisoners ; for the women 
were not the consorts of the men thus suddenly impounded. 
That very Sunday evening an incident occurred which em- 
phasized the danger of wrong and injustice being done by 
acts of violence, under whatever specious plea they may be 
performed. As the ships were getting under weigh to stand 
out of the harbor, a canoe came up alongside the flagship 
propelled by an Indian, some forty years of age, who made 
signs entreating to be taken on board. On being questioned 
by the interpreters as to what he wanted, he replied that his 
wife was one of the seven women kidnapped, and the three 
children were his also, and he begged to be allowed to ac- 
company them wherever they were going. Truly a pathetic 
picture that, on the crimson surface of the placid river, 
framed in its setting of darkening forest and lighted with the 
gorgeous coloring of the tropical sunset : the lonely Indian 
in his little dug-out pleading with the mighty strangers on 
the great ship to be permitted to share the fortunes of his 
loved ones, whatever might be in store for them or him ! 
Even in those early days the Indian had no rights which the 
white man was bound to respect ; but for our own part we 
fail to see wherein the devotion and self-sacrifice of the 
nameless savage were one whit less beautiful than those 
which have caused the name of Ruth the Moabitess to be 
remembered for more than twenty centuries. " This greatly 
pleased me," the Admiral says in his diary ; " and now with 
this man's coming they are all consoled, so that they must 
all have been his relations." We would rather he had 



1 84 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

ordered out his barge and sent the plucky native and all his 
" relations " on shore, with a goodly gift of beads and bells 
to show his admiration for such unselfish courage. 

Sailing out of the River of Tides at early dawn of the 
1 2 th, the fleet coasted along eastward toward the country 
the Indians called Bohio. Though he passed in sight of 
many broad rivers and spacious ports, the Admiral would 
make no landing, but kept steadily onward. This he did 
for two reasons, he tells us : first, because he wished to go 
with all speed to the island of Babeque, for which the wind 
was favorable ; and second, because he saw no large towns 
or cities along the coast, and did not care to lose time in 
examining harbors which could just as well be visited later 
on. By evening he was in sight of the mountains which, 
according to his interpreters, divided the "province" of Cuba 
from that of Bohio, and the ships were hove to to avoid the 
hidden dangers of the coast. When morning broke, he 
resumed his eastern course ; but, a stiff northerly gale spring- 
ing up and threatening to drive him on the lee shore, he 
put well out to sea and made such progress as he could to 
the eastward. That night, also, he lay to, not venturing to 
maintain his headway in a sea where the Indians told him 
there were many islands, and being perplexed with the vari- 
able winds; but at daybreak on the 15th he determined 
to head again for Cuba, or Bohio, as he now supposed 
the coast nearest him was called, and continue his voyage 
toward Babeque. When his savage passengers saw the fleet 
steering again for shore, they were overwhelmed with terror 
and trembled in every limb. That part of the " mainland " 
was Bohio, they reiterated, where the inhabitants had but 
one eye and ate all whom they could seize. Their repre- 
sentations had little effect on the Admiral, however ; for just 
now he was looking for a safe anchorage, and the number of 
eyes possessed by the Bohioans was a secondary consider- 
ation. The weather was unsettled and stormy, and he wished 
to get at least within reach of shelter. He did not want to 
be forced to abandon his easterly direction ; for he had ob- 
served as he had run up into the north and northeast that 



THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. 185 

the air was a good deal cooler, and he feared to encounter 
the storms of winter should he be carried in that direction. 
Now that he was on the Asiatic coast, he desired to remain, 
and thus he led the way again toward land. As he drew 
near the coast, though, the wind shifted, and he found his 
only possible course was westward, little as that suited his 
plans. Scanning carefully the shore as he was driven along, 
he saw no harbor whose entrance was wholly free from risk 
of accident under the conditions then prevailing, for the 
gale was increasing in violence and the sea was running high. 
After seven or eight hours of this unsatisfactory progress, he 
spied a broad and quiet channel which promised to lead 
safely to a harbor. Entering this and following it for several 
miles, he was delighted at emerging into a wide expanse of 
unvexed sea, from whose surface rose an infinite number of 
mountainous islands, whose summits, as he sailed close past 
their bases, seemed fairly to pierce the skies. On one side 
this ocean lake, or lake- like ocean, was bounded by the 
mainland, where rugged sierras pressed down to the very 
water's edge ; on the other, an endless prospect of towering 
islands and waveless sea stretched away into the distance. 
The Admiral could find no words to express his admiration 
and pleasure at the vista thus suddenly opened to his view. 
If what he had seen before of this wonderful country had so 
astonished him, what was he to say of this new region? 
" So many and such lofty islands I have never seen hith- 
erto," he writes. "The world cannot contain any higher 
mountains than those which are before me along this coast 
and in this archipelago. Certainly no more beautiful ones 
exist ; for these are free from ice and snow, their heads are 
covered with verdure and their feet with palms, while they 
slope so steeply that the largest ships can approach them 
without the least danger." Some of the highest peaks were 
so sharp and delicate that he likens them to the point of a 
diamond ; others had flat and even summits like tables ; 
while all were densely clad with vegetation. To his mind 
it was beyond dispute that these were part of the seven 
thousand four hundred and forty islands which according to 



1 86 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Marco Polo lay between Cipango and the continent of Asia ; 
and he expected to find them stretching away on all sides 
beyond the horizon. The combination of mountain and 
forest which distinguished their topography was evidence to 
him that they had concealed " great riches and precious 
stones and spices within them." So fair a paradise, he 
thought, was entitled to a name of peculiar honor ; and so 
he christened the island-studded ocean ''The Sea of Our 
Lady,"^ after the Virgin Mary. In closing his description 
of its attractions, he regrets with evident sincerity that he 
cannot do it justice, and begs their Majesties that they 
should not be surprised that he dilates so on its beauties, 
for he pledges himself that he has not been able to relate 
the hundredth part of all the perfection upon which his eyes 
had feasted. It is not easy to determine the exact route of 
the squadron on these three days ; but it would appear from 
the Admiral's description that he had been carried west- 
ward by the currents which set along the northern coast of 
Cuba, and was now among the groups of islands which lie 
opposite the southern point of Florida. His biographer 
and friend, the good Bishop of Chiapas, has noted on the 
margin of his copy of Colon's diary : " If he had continued 
toward the north, in two days more beyond doubt he had 
discovered the mainland of Florida." As he did not, we 
need not pursue the subject. 

Cruising leisurely through Our Lady's Sea, the Admiral 
on the 15 th entered his barge and visited some of the isl- 
ands, taking possession of them, as was his wont, for the 
Spanish Crown, and causing crosses to be erected wherever 
he landed. They all seemed to be inhabited ; but as the 
natives fled at his approach, he was unable to hold inter- 
course with them. Around their cabins the ground was 
tilled in plantations of mandioca, yucca, and other vegeta- 
bles, while in the woods were many fruit and mastic trees. 
On the following morning he ran in close to the mainland 
and went on shore with the intention of exploring the 

1 This is supposed to be the island-covered sea which lies to the 
north and east of Cape Cabiion. 



THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. 1 8/ 

vicinity and setting up the customary emblem of his faith. 
As though to reward his pious labors, he discovered near by 
the landing-place two trees growing in such a manner that 
the one bent athwart the other in the shape of a cross so 
perfect that no carpenter could make a truer one. Look- 
ing upon this as little less than a miracle, the Admiral and 
his companions knelt in adoration before it ; after which 
he ordered his men to cut the two trunks down and dress 
them, so that he might tow them to the spacious port which 
lay near the entrance of Our Lady's Sea, and there re-estab- 
lish them as a landmark and a signal that the Christians had 
taken possession of the sea and all within it. When he re- 
turned to the flagship, he found the Indians diving over- 
board, searching in the shallow waters for the conch-shells of 
which they were so fond. He ordered them to look for 
pearl-oysters as well, and they brought up a number which 
had no pearls. The shells were so large and handsome 
that he hoped in good time pearls would be discovered in 
abundance, attributing their present failure to the unfavora- 
ble season of the year. The following day, the 1 7th, was 
passed like its predecessor in exploration and investigation, 
which more and more confirmed the Admiral's belief that 
he was penetrating the Umits of the Orient. In the little 
cotias which hurried under shelter as the Spaniards ap- 
proached, he fancied he saw the large rat-shaped rodents 
described by the travellers to the Indies ; and some of 
the trees around him seemed to bear nutmegs, while now 
and again the warm air was loaded with a fragrance he took 
for musk. We cannot otherwise account for his lingering 
so many days in this one locality, when he himself declares 
repeatedly his impatience to reach Babeque, than by sup- 
posing that he considered that he was in the Chinese Sea 
and wished to discover for himself, if possible, the marvels 
and wonders described by the worthy Marco Polo. He 
lost this day two of the Indians whom he had taken at the 
River of Tides, and afterward transferred to the " Niria" as 
being less crowded than the flagship. Taking advantage 
of the liberty allowed them, they slipped overboard and 



1 88 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

quietly swam ashore, in rude indifference to the prepara- 
tions made by the Admiral for their solace in this world 
and their salvation in the next. Early on Sunday, the i8th, 
Colon ordered out all the boats with as many men as could 
be safely spared from the ships, and rowed to the mouth of 
the port which entered the Cuban mainland near the chan- 
nel giving access to Our Lady's Sea. Here the great cross 
was erected on a high hill whose freedom from trees allowed 
the holy emblem to be seen for many leagues in all direc- 
tions from the sea. The appropriate offices were said and 
chanted to the best of the company's ability, and the har- 
bor was named the Port of the Prince. On returning to 
the ships the Admiral announced that he would re-commence 
his voyage to Babeque on the following morning. He did 
not wish to start on this same day, he writes, " because it 
was Sunday," which is the first intimation we have of any 
such scruple on his part. 

Monday, November 19th, the fleet resumed its course, 
and worked to the eastward as well as it could with light 
and variable winds. It was blown so far out of its course 
that night that on the 20th the Admiral found himself 
within an easy day's sail of Isabella. The winds were so 
unfavorable for pursuing his journey to Babeque, and the sea 
was becoming so angry, that he would gladly have sought 
the shelter of his earlier discovery ; but he reflected that if 
he did this his Guanahani Indians would unquestionably 
make their escape. They were already complaining that 
he had broken faith with them in keeping them so long. 
Their understanding was, they said, that they were to be 
released as soon as they had shown the Spaniards where 
gold was to be found, and this they claimed to have done. 
Judging from their subsequent behavior, it is more probable 
that they were frightened at the prospect of visiting the 
terrible monsters of Bohio and Babeque, and invented the 
excuse of the Admiral's broken promise ; for it is certain 
that such a pledge could not have been given by means of 
any imaginable signs. At all events, he was not going to 
run any risks of losing them just as they were beginning 



THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. 1 89 

to understand Spanish and become of daily increasing as- 
sistance ; therefore, instead of heading for Isabella, which 
was only thirty-five miles off, he put about and made for 
the Port of the Prince, which was nearly twice the distance. 
By the time he reached this harbor it was night, and, not 
caring to risk making an entrance, he once more tacked 
about and sought the open sea. At daybreak he was forty 
miles away from the Port, and as the wind changed for the 
better he resumed his easterly course in the hope of reaching 
Babeque. 

Toward evening, as the breeze served his purpose, he 
shifted his direction somewhat toward the south, in order 
to skirt more closely the Cuban coast. He noticed, after 
changing his course, that the " Pinta " did not follow his lead 
as promptly as she should have done ; but he thought little 
of this at the moment, as she was the swiftest sailer of the 
fleet and might be standing on with the intention of over- 
taking the flagship later. As the night closed in, however, 
he saw the " Pinta" away off on the horizon, still steering due 
east with all sails set, and every moment increasing the dis- 
tance between herself and the two other vessels. Loath to 
believe that so true a sailor and so brave a man as her captain 
undoubtedly was would be guilty of so rank an act of dis- 
obedience, the Admiral assumed that the distance had misled 
him, and that the " Pinta " must in reality be heading for him ; 
so he directed that his own ship and the " Nina" should take 
in part of their canvas and continue their way to the coast 
under easy sail. He likewise ordered that a bright light 
should be maintained all night long as a guide to the missing 
vessel. With these precautions taken, he hoped against hope 
to hear Martin Alonzo's hail before many hours were past ; 
the more especially as the wind blew strong from the direc- 
tion of the " Pinta " to where her consorts were slowly forging 
along. The anxious night passed without incident, never- 
theless ; and when the Admiral mounted the castle of his 
ship as soon as the first gray light of morning broke in the 
eastern sky, both ocean and horizon were bare of ship or 
sail. There was no longer possibility of doubt or error : 



I90 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Martin Alonzo had deserted his companions and steered 
eastward for some purpose of his own. 

That Colon should be disturbed and anxious at this foul 
deed was natural enough, and his anger was equal to his 
indignation ; but both policy and pride demanded that he 
should not openly attach too great importance to it, or con- 
fess himself to have been abandoned in cold blood by his 
chief lieutenant. That such was the case, and that the 
motive in Martin Alonzo's mind was a compound of envy 
and greed, the Admiral did not question. No other solution 
was admissible. There was no storm raging to separate the 
ships, nor had any accident befallen the *' Pinta " to render 
her ungovernable. She had ample opportunity to rejoin 
her sister ships had her captain so desired ; for the wind 
which then prevailed would have brought her to them in 
three or four hours at the most. That her absence was in- 
tentional, he was convinced ; and as he reflected upon the 
matter Martin Alonzo's object gradually grew plain before 
him. Ever since the proclamation of Colon as Admiral 
and Viceroy, the captain of the " Pinta " had shown a res- 
tive independence which ill befitted his inferior rank. The 
knowledge that he had been largely instrumental in getting 
together the fleet which had made this gigantic discovery ; 
the fact that he and his family had contributed a considera- 
ble sum of money to the costs of the expedition ; the belief 
that he was as good a navigator and as wise a geographer 
as this Italian adventurer, and had done as much as he in 
finding land and securing these rich countries, — all these 
thoughts had fostered his self-importance, and helped to feed 
the feeling that he was being unjustly treated, and deserved 
quite as high a rank and as great a dignity as had been con- 
ferred on his commander. These sentiments had led him 
imperceptibly to assume toward the Admiral a bearing which 
the latter found it difficult to support. " Many another in- 
solence has he said and done to me," Colon writes in his 
diary when recording the desertion of his lieutenant. But 
as two of his ships were commanded by the Pinzons, and 
the greater part of his crews were Palos men, related to 



THE EVIL DEED OF MARTIN ALONZO. 191 

or dependent on the three brothers, the Admiral had 
disguised his impatience at Martin Alonzo's treatment and 
smothered his resentment for the sake of his expedition's 
success. Now he recalled the fact that it was the inter- 
preter assigned to the " Pinta " who had been the first to 
inform them of the extent and importance of Cuba, and he 
was convinced that the same man had given her captain some 
other information about Babeque which had inflamed Pinzon's 
cupidity to such a degree that he had forgotten the obliga- 
tions of duty and loyalty, and gone to reap the benefits of the 
new discovery for himself alone. Instead, however, of mak- 
ing sail in the direction taken by the fugitive " Pinta," the 
Admiral resolved to complete his examination of the country 
of Bohio, and then continue on to the island of Babeque. 
By so doing he would not appear to his men to be distressed 
by the action of Martin Alonzo, nor would he lose the op- 
portunity of learning the truth regarding this nearer country 
of which his interpreters had told him such strange tales. 
His decision was a wise one ; but it required a stout heart 
and a strong will to reach it. 

As soon as his own Indians had realized that he was steer- 
ing again for the Cuban coast, with the palpable intention 
of resuming his explorations, they lost all control over them- 
selves, and could scarcely speak from sheer distress. They 
repeated over and over again that the people of Bohio were 
atrocious monsters, dog-headed and one-eyed ; that they 
were ferocious warriors, possessing superior weapons ; that 
they butchered and devoured all the captives they took in 
war, and made constant raids into the other countries of 
Cuba and the adjacent islands, for the sole purpose of 
securing victims. These inhuman creatures, the interpre- 
ters said, belonged to a tribe called Canibals, — the name 
since applied to all man-eating races by their more fas- 
tidious fellow- men. But the more his Indians talked, the 
more the Admiral desired to visit these extraordinary people. 
If they were well armed, as his interpreters alleged, they 
must be more advanced in the arts than the other nations 
he had met ; and moreover, according to the Venetian, such 



192 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

a race of one-eyed cynocephali inhabited some of the islands 
near Cipango, and he wished to see whether these " Cani- 
bals" were not the same savages. So he headed straight for 
a prominent cape on the coast ; but hght baffling winds and 
strong currents kept him off shore, and finally drove him so 
far back to the west that again he found himself near the 
entrance to Our Lady's Sea. Here a landlocked harbor, 
which he had not before perceived, offered so desirable an 
anchorage that he decided to put in there and await a favor- 
able wind for resuming his eastward journey. He remained 
for three days in this port, exploring its surroundings, and 
finding that it surpassed any he had yet seen for convenience 
and situation. The country around was fertile, abounding 
in palms and other beautiful trees ; and a large stream en- 
tered the head of the harbor, rushing down from the moun- 
tains above with much violence and noise. On the flanks of 
these mountains grew extensive forests of noble pines and oaks, 
so tall and straight that they would furnish masts and timbers 
for all the ships of Spain. Among the pebbles in the bed of 
the stream he picked up stones which were veined with gold, 
— "like those I have found in the Tagus," he says, — and 
others seemed to be ores of iron and silver ; all of which, 
being worn smooth by the water, he inferred must have been 
brought down by the floods from the range above. The sight 
of so magnificent a harbor surrounded by so rich a country, 
and especially the abundance of materials for ship-building, 
seems to have acted as a partial antidote against his chagrin 
at Martin Alonzo's disloyalty. He writes on the 25 th : — 

" It has pleased Our Lord on this voyage to lead me always 
from what is good to what is better; so that everything I have 
thus far discovered has been superior to what preceded it, 
whether it be lands and forests, or harbors and streams, or plants 
and fruits and flowers, or the people themselves ; all of which 
things are different in each place from what they were in the 
others." 

To this favored spot, when he took formal possession, he 
gave the name of St. Catherine's Port, having reached it on 
the eve of the festival of that saint. 



XVI. 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. 



ON the morning of the 26th of November the fleet 
left St. Catherine's and proceeded eastward along 
the coast. The magnificent panorama of lofty mountains, 
luxuriant forests, deep harbors, and crystal streams which 
unfolded hour by hour filled the Admiral with enthusiasm. 
" It was a glory to see it all," he writes; and several times 
he came to anchor and landed in the boats to inspect some 
notably good port or enter the mouth of a river larger than 
its fellows. Off to the southeast rose two headlands re- 
markable for their altitude even in that region of towering 
summits. One of these peaks, he understood from his 
interpreters, was on the mainland of Cuba ; the other was 
on the island of Bohio. This information caused him no 
little perplexity ; for the natives seemingly conferred this 
latter appellation with bewildering impartiality on every 
fresh district they caught sight of. Originally it was indeed 
referred to as an island to the southeast ; but later it had 
been a province of Asia adjoining that of Cuba, and on 
the 13th of this month he had even been shown the chain 
of mountains separating Bohio from the latter province. 
Since then he had supposed that he was sailing along the 
coast of this country, for his interpreters had accounted 
for their alarm by making him this statement ; but now 
they pointed it out to him as an island still in the remote 
distance, and left him completely in the dark as to what the 
region was which he was now exploring. There was little 
assistance to be had from his Indians just then in determin- 
es 



194 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

ing his locality ; for whenev^er he spoke to them about the 
coast or its inhabitants they turned pale and shook with 
fright, although he made light of their tales and tried to 
laugh away their fears. In this uncertainty he watched the 
shore attentively for any appearance of towns or cities ; but 
the only signs of population which he found were the re- 
mains of fires at some of the landings which he made. He 
accounted satisfactorily for this absence of setdements by 
supposing that the population of this province, whatever it 
was, lived farther inland among the mountains, where they 
would be secure from the invasion of the ferocious Canibals. 
For his own part he began to doubt that the latter were the 
monstrosities they were pictured by the interpreters. Their 
name, he fancied, gave him a clew both as to their race and 
nature. Crt;/2-ibals ; what more evident than that they were 
the warriors of the Khan, that Bohio was part of his do- 
minions whether island or province, and that the fears of 
the timid and defenceless people of the other islands had 
exaggerated these resistless soldiers into demons of inhuman 
shape ? For the time being this solution seemed to recon- 
cile at least a part of the perplexing contradictions of his 
interpreters. Dependent as he was upon exchange of signs 
for the greater part of his information, the Admiral's con- 
ception of any people or place other than these before his 
eyes was liable to alter widely from day to day ; and this 
gives to the working of his mind an appearance of fickle- 
ness which it was far from possessing. He was sure that 
in good time he should find Cathay and the Court of the 
Great Khan. He was convinced that Cuba was the main- 
land of Asia, although his mind was open to correction in 
favor of its being Japan upon the production of sufficient 
evidence. As to the other provinces or islands he visited 
and heard of, his impressions might have to be modified 
by circumstances ; but this did not affect his general ideas 
as to where he was, or diminish his confidence that sooner 
or later all would result as he had hoped. Meanwhile the 
knowledge that he was certainly adding each day fresh ter- 
ritories of richest promise to the dominions of his sovereigns 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. I95 

gave him a contentment and satisfaction which served to curb 
his impatience at not finding immediately the golden treas- 
ures he was seeking. 

At last, on the 27th, a large village was seen situated 
near the mouth of a broad stream ; and this the Admiral set 
out to visit as being the most imposing settlement thus far 
encountered in his cruise. As the Spaniards approached 
the shore in their boats, the whole population lined the 
river-bank, crying out at the top of their voices and bran- 
dishing their spears. Some of the sailors who had picked 
up a few words of the language called to them that they 
should not be afraid, as the strangers were their friends ; but 
no sooner had the first few men leaped ashore and started 
toward the savages than the entire tribe broke for the woods 
and disappeared. The seamen visited the huts, but found 
nothing of interest or value therein and upon hearing their 
report the Admiral ordered the boats to return, and resumed 
his voyage. Later on in the day they found themselves off the 
entrance to a deep bay from whose shores an undulating 
plain of wide extent swept inland to the base of the blue 
mountains surrounding it on all sides. ^ Winding across its 
surface could be traced the course of several considerable 
rivers, while here and there columns of smoke arose, as if 
marking the sites of towns and villages. Enchanted with 
the prospect before him, Colon anchored close to the beach 
and went on shore, to meet the natives if possible and es- 
tablish friendly relations with them. No Indians could be 
found, although the condition of the cabins and cultivated 
grounds which were discovered near by indicated that their 
owners had left them only recently. Continuing up the 
river in his barge, the Admiral found at every turn fresh 
cause for admiration and delight. Even Our Lady's Sea 
he was forced to admit, exquisitely beautiful as it was, lacked 
the varied attractions of this favored locality. As he was 
rowed along he called the attention of his companions re- 

^ The port of Baracoa, near the easternmost extremity of Cuba. 
It well deserves all the praises lavished by Colon on the beauty of 
its surroundings. 



196 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

peatedly to the marvellous vistas which opened in every 
direction. 

" Have mortal eyes ever beheld the like, think you, Se- 
nores?" he asked in his delight. "Were I to endeavor to 
convey to their Majesties even an imperfect idea of these 
enchanting scenes, a thousand tongues would not suffice to 
relate their charms, nor would my hand be capable of de- 
scribing even an inconsiderable part." 

These outbursts of pleasure and appreciation, amounting 
often to positive glee over the natural beauties of the new 
lands he was visiting, are constantly encountered in Colon's 
diary. They are, as we have already seen in several in- 
stances, often accompanied by a comparison with other 
landscapes in the older world which had attracted his ad- 
miration in earlier years ; and not infrequently a shrewd 
inference is drawn from the differences which distinguish 
the two localities associated in his mind. That his imagi- 
native faculty should have been so extremely susceptible 
and yet that in all emergencies he should have been so im- 
mediately the man of action and quick resource, is one of 
the many interesting contradictions in the character of this 
extraordinary individual. At the present time, as he as- 
cended the river, leisurely inspecting one and the other 
bank, he remarked a grove of fruit-trees so regular in their 
growth that he judged it to be a cultivated orchard, and, 
under a palm- thatched shed hard by, an immense canoe 
which astonished him by its size. These he took to be evi- 
dences that the people of the region were more advanced 
both in agriculture and the mechanical arts than any before 
met with, and on returning to his ships he planned to make an 
earnest attempt to hold communication with them. Fortune 
favored his design apparently ; for a week of bad weather 
followed, during which the fleet was unable to leave its an- 
chorage. Availing themselves of the opportunity, the Admiral 
and his men made repeated excursions in the neighborhood, 
and found every indication of a large and industrious popula- 
tion j but, try as they might, they failed to come upon any 
of the natives for several days. That the people were there, 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. I97 

was evident ; but they succeeded in avoiding the white men 
with singular dexterity. A party of sailors who had gone 
ashore to wash their clothes and afterward pushed on into 
the forest, reached a village of some importance situated at 
a distance from the shore ; but as they emerged from the 
trees, the savages took to flight, and when the Spaniards 
entered the houses they found no one left. Another day 
several of the crew arrived at a native settlement only to 
see the usual exodus take place as they appeared. On 
this occasion they did succeed in overtaking an old man 
whose years reduced his speed to that of the armed white 
men ; but after presenting him with some trinkets they let 
him go, much to the annoyance of the Admiral, who rated 
them soundly for not bringing their prisoner to where the 
interpreters could converse with him. Possibly the seamen 
thought he was no proper companion for good Christians, 
for in one of the cabins of this same hamlet they found a 
human head hanging in a basket from a rafter. This they 
brought to the Admiral, supposing that it was all that re- 
mained of the last captive taken by the guileless inhabi- 
t£:nts of this happy land. Their commander, however, 
was not inclined to believe in the existence of man-eaters, 
and contended that the head was that of a chief or princi- 
pal man thus preserved as a token of veneration ; " be- 
cause," as he says, " very many people live together in each 
of these houses, and they must be all relatives descended 
from the same stock." The subsequent discovery in other 
towns of a number of these detached polls was a strain 
upon this charitable theory ; but it was doubtless correct, 
for we are told that such was the habit among some of the 
West Indian tribes, and we still find it practised among the 
scattered nomads of the remoter regions of the Amazon 
and Orinoco. With this first head the Spaniards found also 
a great cake of wax, which proved a more welcome offering 
to their leader, — " for where there is wax," he writes, " there 
must be a thousand other good things." ^ 

1 A note by Las Casas on the margin of Colon's diary says that 
this wax must have come from Yucatan, as there was none in Cuba. 
There certainly were bees, though, as we shall presently see. 



198 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

On the fourth day of his enforced stay in this harbor the 
Admiral despatched a party of eight armed men and two in- 
terpreters to scout into the interior and make a fresh effort 
to estabUsh relations with the natives. This detachment 
visited several hamlets, and reported that the country was 
everywhere well cultivated and thickly populated, but that 
they had failed to have speech with any of the people. The 
houses were not only deserted, they said, but stripped bare 
of all their contents. It was obvious that the inhabitants 
had a mortal terror of the mysterious visitors who had landed 
upon their coast. At one place the scouts had come sud- 
denly upon a group of four Indians digging over a field with 
pointed sticks. The instant they observed the Spaniards 
they dropped their rude implements and darted into the 
woods at a speed which it was hopeless for their pursuers to 
attempt. The scouts also reported that on the banks of the 
river, carefully housed under a palm-thatched roof, they had 
seen another great canoe, which was over sixty feet long, 
and would hold one hundred and fifty people. It was hol- 
lowed out of a single trunk, and smoothed and finished with 
astonishing exactness. The description of this huge craft 
excited the Admiral's professional interest, and on the fol- 
lowing day he was gratified by an experience of his own. 
He had started out with several of his men to explore one 
of the several streams which flowed into the bay. Some 
distance above its mouth he reached a small cove, in which 
were lying five of these immense canoes, carefully drawn up 
side by side on the beach under the shelter of the dense 
foliage of the forest. From this spot a path led through the 
woods, and on following it Colon came to a roomy and well- 
built shed, under which lay a sixth huge boat, as large as a 
galley of seventeen benches. This cove seemed to him to 
be a sort of dockyard where the canoes were launched after 
being finished in the shed near by ; and he was greatly 
impressed by the skill and intelligence displayed in the 
making of these vessels. " It was a pleasure to see their 
workmanship and gracefulness," he writes. 

On the same day — the last of his detention in this port 
— he succeeded finally in meeting the natives, only to learn 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. 1 99 

that they were in no wise different from those hitherto seen. 
He had climbed to the top of a high hill to get a better 
view of the country, and there had found a hamlet, whose 
inhabitants were taken too much by surprise to escape at 
once. As they started to run, one of the interpreters called 
out that there was no reason for fear, as the white men were 
benefactors, not enemies. At this some of them halted, 
and on being offered a handful of presents were hugely 
pleased, and shouted to their fleeing companions to come 
back. The Admiral held out beads and such stuff in ex- 
change for the spears with which all the men were armed ; 
and the readiness with which they surrendered their weapons 
convinced him that they were not very desperate warriors. 
Their arms were only long staves of heavy wood hardened 
in the fire, of the same sort as the tribes of Amazonia still 
carry. From the way they had all started to run. Colon 
affirmed that ten Spaniards could put to flight a whole army 
of such foes. That his estimate of their courage was not 
unduly contemptuous, was almost immediately proven. There 
was little in the village to interest the visitors ; but in one 
of the neatest cabins the Admiral observed that instead of a 
single large apartment the interior was disposed into many 
small chambers, constructed in a singular fashion, and hav- 
ing suspended from the ceiling over them numbers of shells 
and other objects. Thinking that this might be a temple or 
religious house, he made signs asking if it were so, where- 
upon the Indians clambered up and dislodged some of 
the ornaments, which they pressed him to accept. He 
took a part of their gifts as curiosities, and after repeating 
his expressions of good-will started to return to his boats. 
On the way he sent two or three men back a short distance 
to fetch honey from a tree which he had noticed, and with 
the rest of his party entered the boats and shoved off from 
the bank. While lying thus waiting for his men, a great 
throng of the natives suddenly appeared, rushing down to 
the water's edge close to where the boats were riding. They 
were painted red all over, wore bunches of feathers plaited 
into their hair, and carried bundles of light javelins in their 



200 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

hands. One of them waded out to the stem of the Ad- 
miral's barge, and made a long harangue. This was lost 
upon the Spaniards, of course ; but they noticed that at in- 
tervals the savages on the bank lifted their hands up to the 
skies and gave a mighty shout. Colon was of the opinion that 
they were saying how honored they were at the white men's 
visit, and indicating that the latter must have come from 
heaven ; but his interpreters began to turn a sickly yellow, 
and trembling from head to foot implored him to row out 
into deep water, saying that the Indians proposed to kill 
them all, and were only making a speech before proceeding 
to do so. Finding that the Admiral would not move, one of 
the interpreters seized a cross-bow from a sailor and held it 
up before the crowd on shore, explaining that this was a 
magical weapon of the strangers, with which they could kill 
all the people in Cuba ; then taking up a sword, he flour- 
ished it toward them, declaring that by its means the white 
men could cut off all their heads at once. At this threat 
the whole tribe turned to run away ; but the Admiral held 
out beads and other presents, and leaping ashore went 
boldly to them, motioning that they should give him their 
weapons in exchange. Pacified by his attitude, they now 
returned and surrounded both him and the boats, freely 
parting with all they had in trade for any trifle the Spaniards 
proffered. So brisk was the traffic that when the sailors had 
exhausted their beads and gew-gaws they did a thriving 
business with fragments of bread and bits of a turtle's shell 
which they broke into scraps. When the honey-seekers re- 
joined them the Spaniards bade farewell to their now dis- 
armed adversaries, and returned to the ships. The Admiral 
in particular was surprised at the conduct of the savages, 
and did not know which to hold in the lower esteem, — 
the crowd of Indians who had fled at the sight of a sword 
shaken by the terrified interpreter, or this person himself, who 
was still shivering from fear, although the savages were out 
of view and he himself was in a place of safety. " And he 
was a tall fellow, and muscular withal," Colon writes in evi- 
dent disgust. 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. 20I 

On the morning of December 4 a light wind sprang up 
from a favoring quarter, and the two vessels left their pleas- 
ant anchorage in the beautiful harbor of Puerto Santo (the 
Holy Port) , as the Admiral had named it, — whether from the 
supposed temple near by or from a kindly remembrance of 
the distant Portuguese island where his wife's father had 
been governor in long-past days we cannot know. The 
wind held fair ; and all day long the little squadron held its 
course eastward along the coast, passing new ports and 
rivers and steering from cape to cape as long as daylight 
lasted. Through the night he lay hove to off one of these 
commanding headlands, anxious to continue his cruise by 
daylight, so as to examine with care the whole extent of 
coast. At sunrise on the 5 th he resumed his easterly voy- 
age for eight or ten miles toward a steep and lofty promon- 
tory which closed the coast-line in that direction. On 
reaching this point and rounding it, he saw that beyond the 
coast ran no longer east, but trending for a short distance 
south, made a sharp turn backward, and stretched on in- 
definitely to the southwest. This was clearly the end, at 
least to the east, of the land he had been following. Whether 
it was the eastern point of Asia or of Japan, he could not 
satisfactorily determine. The interpreters constantly re- 
ferred to Cuba as an island ; but he had sailed for such an 
unheard of distance along the coast that he could scarcely 
believe it to be any other than the proper continent of 
Asia. Now that he had reached this abrupt termination of 
the shore, his faith was somewhat shaken as to its being 
terra firma, and he resumed in his diary the use of the 
name Juana, which he had given to it as an island. In this 
doubt as to the true character of Cuba he continued during 
the rest of this voyage and after his return to Spain ; but on 
his second voyage to the Indies in the following year he 
reached the positive conclusion that it was the veritable 
Asian mainland, and in this conviction remained to the day 
of his death. 

Meantime, as he debated the problem, the wind was 
bearing him along the eastern face of the glorious island to- 



202 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

ward the noble headland we now call Cape Maysi. Whether 
to pursue the new trend of this same coast and follow it 
into the south and west, or to make direct for the faint blue 
outline in the eastern sky where the interpreters again in- 
sisted that Bohio lay, was a dilemma which, he records, gave 
him much concern. To go northeast in search of the once 
vaunted Babeque was out of the question ; for the prevail- 
ing winds would not permit. After much deliberation he 
decided to steer for Bohio, reserving the continuation of his 
Cuban cruise for another opportunity. Altering his course, 
therefore, he stood for the land to the east, with all sails 
set to a favoring gale, and the lofty mountains of the 
beautiful region he was leaving astern melting little by little 
into the hazy distance as those ahead gained form and 
substance. 

The cape which lay farthest toward the rising sun on the 
coast now rapidly dropping below the horizon, he called 
Alpha and Omega ; because it appeared to be the first ex- 
tremity of the mainland as it was approached from the Old 
^Vorld, and the last to be seen by those who left the New, 
In the stormy years of his later life Colon must have looked 
back with heartfelt longing at the weeks of unalloyed de- 
light which followed his advent to the wonderful western 
world, and yearned to be again drifting with his little vessels 
along the mountain-crowned coast which he had taken for 
the empire of Cathay. He wrote in his diary while lying 
wind-bound in the Holy Port : — 

" It is beyond dispute, your Majesties, that where such lands 
exist there must be an infinite variety of valuable products : 
but I am not stopping long in any one place, as I desire to visit 
as many countries as possible, in order to give an account of 
them to your Highnesses. Besides, I do not know the language 
of these people, and they do not understand me, nor do I or any 
one with me understand them. These Indians I am carr}^ing 
with me as interpreters very often mistake one thing for another, 
and I cannot trust them, as they have many times tried to run 
away. Nevertheless, if it pleases Our Lord, I will see as much 
as I can, and little by little shall go on learning and comprehend- 
ing what they say ; and I will make the people in my service 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. 203 

acquire this language, for I have observed that thus far all the 
natives use the same tongue. 

" And I certify to your Majesties that I do not believe that be- 
neath the sun there can be any lands which are superior to these 
in fertility, in the moderation of heat and cold, or in the abundance 
of plentiful and wholesome waters. These are not in any respect 
like the streams on the coast of Guinea, which are all pesti- 
lential ; for up to the present time, God be praised, out of all 
my people there is not a single one who has had so much as a 
headache, — except one old man who suffered from a trouble he 
has had all his life, and he was well again at the end of two days. 
And in saying this I speak of all three ships. 

" In the interior of this country I believe that great cities are 
to be found, and a population without number, and many articles 
of great value, and that both with those countries I have already 
discovered and the others I hope to find before returning to 
Castile, all Christendom will establish a commerce, and especially 
Spain, to whom they must all be subject. And I venture to say 
that your Highnesses should not permit any foreigner to trade 
or set his foot here except Catholic Christians, since the object 
and beginning of this discovery were the spread and glory of 
the Catholic religion ; and that no one should be allowed to 
come to this part of the world who is not a good Christian." 

Such were the estimates Colon had formed of Cuba and 
the plans he made for its future. Their Majesties were 
careful enough to see that " no foreigner set his foot " in 
their new dominions ; but as to the other recommendations 
of the Admiral they were wasted words. Even in those 
times there was no lack of critics who looked upon the dis- 
coverer as a sentimental enthusiast. The gold he found was 
useful to hire soldiers and buy materials for French or Italian 
wars. As for the " spread and glory of the Catholic re- 
ligion," — paciencia ! 

The sun was getting low when the ships drew near enough 
to the coast of what we now call Hayti for the Admiral to 
distinguish the grand mountain ranges and broad savannas 
which make this island only little less fair to the eyes than 
its lordly neighbor to the west. Steering for the nearest cape, 
the one we know as Mole St. Nicholas, he reached the 
coast too late to anchor that night. The purple shadows of 
the distant summits had already given way to the darker 



204 W^TH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

hues of approaching night ; and over the level prairies, 
which but a few moments since were aglow with the gorgeous 
coloring of sunset, the deepening gloom of the hurried twi- 
light had settled. The " Niiia " was able, with much caution, 
to run in close to shore and make her way to a secure anchor- 
age beneath the headland ; but the flagship stood off and 
on, waiting for the light of day before following her consort's 
lead. In the morning, as a consequence, she was several 
leagues away from the point where the " Nina " lay, and the 
Admiral made haste to rejoin his companion. Going ashore 
early in the day, he took possession of his new discovery, 
calling the cape and harbor where he was St. Nicholas, 
after the saint on whose festival he had reached the land. 
To the other points and bays which he had seen he gave 
such names as his fancy or that of his associates dictated, — 
the cape of the Star, of the Elephant, and so on. The 
country near his landing-place he found to be well under 
cultivation. The forests were not so dense as those of Cuba ; 
and among their trees were many he thought resembled 
those of Spain, while others he believed would be found to 
produce spices and precious gums. The plain which spread 
away inland to the foot of the mountains resembled to his 
fancy the famous vega of Cordova in Castile, and the thick 
turf of grass and flowers with which it was carpeted increased 
the likeness. The nights, too, were cooler than those of Cuba, 
and the climate more nearly approximated that of October 
in Spain. In fact, so strongly was he reminded of the 
country of his adoption by all he saw in this latest landfall 
that he christened it Hispaniola, or Little Spain, — a name 
destined to be as famous for the wealth and surpassing fer- 
tility of its territory as for the misery and sufferings of its 
unhappy population. As yet the natives had only been seen 
at a distance ; but from the swarm of canoes which appeared 
as the day wore on, the Admiral judged that the country must 
be thickly inhabited. This opinion was confirmed by the 
large number of smoke columns visible by daylight and of 
fires at night, which he descried in the interior, and which he 
knew not whether to attribute to the existence of villages in 



ALPHA AND OMEGA. 205 

the places where they were seen, or to consider as signals 
lighted by the people near the sea to warn their aUies inland 
of the approach of enemies. His experience in the Moorish 
war and along the Barbary coast inclined him to accept the 
latter explanation. 

For the next five days the ships sailed leisurely eastward 
from Cape St. Nicholas, examining the spacious harbors 
of the northern shores of Hayti (or, rather, of Hispaniola, 
as we should call it hereafter) and exploring the country 
adjacent to them. To a large island lying some ten or 
twelve miles north of the main coast he gave the name of 
Tortugas, from the shoals of turtles thereabouts encountered, 
— a spot afterward known to history as the chosen home 
of the buccaneers and freebooters of the Spanish Main. 
Each day of his progress increased Colon's impression of 
the likeness between this lesser Spain and the greater one 
beyond the Atlantic ; and he remarks that even the fish the 
sailors caught in their nets and the birds they heard singing 
in the groves were like those of the old country. Wishing 
to learn something of the natives, he sent six of his stoutest 
and most intelligent men, whom he armed well, to push a 
few leagues inland and see what traces they could find of 
town or hamlet. They reported, on their return, that they 
had found no village at all, but only a few scattered huts 
with the vestiges of fires at many places on their route. The 
whole district was well cultivated, they said, and broad 
paths traversed it in every direction, so that a large popu- 
lation must be somewhere near. 

The Admiral was eager to continue his course along the 
shores of Hispaniola, in order to learn its character and 
extent with as little delay as might be ; but the winds held 
him prisoner for several days in a harbor opposite Tortugas, 
which he had designated as Port Conception on reaching it 
the 7th of the month. His Indian interpreters, either to 
terrify him, or because they knew no better themselves, or 
perhaps from a misconception of their signs and broken 
Spanish, now perplexed him mightily with their description 
of his present locality. Bohio was no longer an island, and 



206 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Hispaniola was not Bohio at all. The real region of that 
name was on the southern side of Hispaniola, and was vastly 
larger than Cuba, — so great, indeed, that the ships could 
never sail around it. It was from this more remote country, 
it now seemed, that the Canibals were wont to come to 
harry the islands and steal the inhabitants. Hispaniola was 
an island by itself, and was named Aiti or Hayti. As for 
Babeque, it was somewhere off beyond Tortuga, and was 
very great and rich. What they meant we cannot hope to 
ascertain, interesting as it would be to know the extent to 
which any acquaintance with geography was common among 
the natives. It is possible that Bohio was the mainland of 
South America, and the Canibals were the Caribs of Guiana 
and the Windward Islands; or it may have been Yucatan 
and Mexico. Any of these could have been, and no doubt 
were reached by the great canoes of Cuba and the islands. 
Such boats still make voyages only little less adventurous. 
Possibly, again, this name may have indicated San Domingo, 
the eastern portion of Hispaniola, where certainly gold 
abounded and cannibalism was and still is practised. Ba- 
beque may have been Jamaica, or one of the Lesser Antilles, 
or perhaps, as he had surmised, only a fiction of the simple 
Indians to get the Admiral to go back nearer to their native 
Guanahani. At all events, it is apparent that he understood 
as little what they meant as we do, and, like a wise man, 
determined to stay where he was and explore the magnifi- 
cent domain on which he had landed. Later on, he says, he 
might search for the other regions of which his interpreters 
spoke so confusedly, if time and the winds should permit. 



XVII. 
HIS UNCLAD MAJESTY. 

ON the 1 2th of December the Admiral went on shore 
with his officers, and set up a tall cross at the en- 
trance of Port Conception, " as a token," he writes to his 
sovereigns, " that your Highnesses hold this country for 
your own ; but chiefly as a memorial of Our Lord Jesus 
Christ and for the honor of the Christian religion." After 
this ceremony he again despatched three of his men inland 
to make another effort to find the natives. These scouts 
came upon a large body of Indians, and hailed them in 
such words of their language as they knew ; but the whole 
crowd started off at full speed in mortal terror, so that the 
Spaniards returned bafiied to the shore. On their way 
back to the ships they overtook a canoe which had come 
upon the vessels unawares on rounding a point of land hard 
by. Paralyzed with astonishment at first, the savages had 
quickly thrown themselves into the water and swum to the 
beach, leaving one woman behind, who fell into the sailors' 
hands. When she was brought to the flagship the Admiral 
was delighted to learn that she spoke the same language as 
his interpreters, and he directed them to tell her of the 
strangers' generosity and goodness. After she had lost 
somewhat of her fright he put a gayly colored robe upon her, 
— for she was before dressed mainly in smiles and tears, 
with a bit of gold through her nose for ornament, — and 
having given her a quantity of trinkets, sent her on shore 
with an escort of armed men and several of the interpreters. 



208 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

The woman was by no means anxious to return to her 
people, for when they reached land she declared that she 
wished to remain on the ships with the Indian women she 
had seen there ; but at length she started out for her village, 
with the escort accompanying as a guard of honor. Late at 
night these men returned to the flagship, and reported that 
they had found the distance so great that they judged it best 
not to go too far into the country ; but that the woman had 
continued her journey in high contentment, saying she 
would tell her people of the kind treatment she had received, 
and that on another day they would come in numbers to 
visit the white men. 

The next morning the Admiral sent a detachment of nine 
stout men with an interpreter to push on to the settlement 
and persuade the inhabitants to hasten their coming. This 
party found the town to be some ten miles from the sea, 
situated on the banks of a wide and picturesque stream, 
which flowed through a vast and fertile plain. To their 
eyes the luxuriant beauty of this broad expanse surpassed 
that of the vaunted meadows of Cordova " by as much as 
day excels the night ; " and they quickened their pace 
on sighting the houses. There were apparently at least 
a thousand of these in the place, with a population of 
quite three times as many men, besides the women and 
children ; but no sooner did the little band of Spaniards 
approach than every living creature in the village started off 
on a mad stampede. The interpreter pursued them, calling 
out that the strangers were not Canibals, but friendly be- 
ings come down from the skies, bringing rare treasures with 
them as gifts. The sound of their own speech, with the 
inducements it conveyed, caused a few of the runaways to 
halt and then draw slowly near to the visitors. As usual, 
the example was contagious, and in a moment the Spaniards 
were surrounded by an awe-struck throng of a thousand 
or more, all with their hands placed upon their heads in 
token of submission, and quaking with dread of the possible 
fate awaiting them. A small expenditure of presents and 
kind words speedily reassured them, and they then led the 



HIS UNCLAD MAJESTY. 209 

visitors into the best houses, where a feast of cassava bread, 
yuccas, fish, and whatever else the native larder afforded was 
promptly spread out. The interpreter had heard the Ad- 
miral say that he would like to secure some good parrots, 
and he now said to the savages that the chief or lord of 
these mysterious white men desired to have some of those 
gaudy birds. In a twinkling the Indians rushed into their 
cabins round about, and brought out a perfect flock of 
painted chatterers, pressing the Spaniards to take them, and 
refusing to accept any payment. In the midst of this ami- 
cable intercourse a loud commotion was heard some dis- 
tance away ; and the visiting party were alarmed to see a 
great body of savages approaching in orderly array, as though 
bent on hostile purpose. Happily it proved to be only an- 
other troop of friendly natives, escorting in triumph the hus- 
band of the woman so kindly treated by the Admiral, who 
was come to thank these marvellous white people for the 
attentions shown his wife and the magnificent presents they 
had given her, — whereby no doubt he had been raised to 
an envied pitch of affluence among his neighbors. New 
courtesies and compliments now ensued, so greatly to the 
delight of the Indians that when the Spaniards at last indi- 
cated that they must set out on their return march their 
savage hosts begged them to remain at least until the next 
day, promising to give them many beautiful things if they 
would do so, and saying that runners had been sent up into 
the mountains to collect the best of all they had for the 
visitors. On arriving at the ships the scouting party made 
a graphic report of their experiences to the Admiral, assuring 
him that not only was the country the richest and most at- 
tractive they had ever seen, but the inhabitants were more 
intelligent and handsomer than the best in the other islands. 
As for the fruits and forests, birds and flowers, waters and 
air, the choicest regions of Spain itself could not produce 
their equals. 

Curious to examine for himself the district of which his 
men had spoken so enthusiastically, the Admiral sailed from 
Port Conception on the 14th, and after a day of contrary 

14 



210 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

winds, during which he touched at Tortuga, came to anchor 
on the 15 th at the mouth of the river which watered the 
great plain his party had explored. The current was so 
strong his seamen could not row against it when he at- 
tempted to ascend the stream in his boats, and, after towing 
them for a short distance along the banks, he was compelled 
to abandon them altogether and pursue his way on foot. For 
this reason he failed to reach the large town visited by his 
scouts ; but he had a good view of the broad savanna, and 
remarked the sites of several important settlements farther 
inland toward the mountains. He was as much charmed 
with the region as his men had been, and christened it the 
Valle del Paraiso (or Vale of Paradise), on account of its 
abounding fertility and exquisite scenery. The river wind- 
ing through it he called the Guadalquivir, since it reminded 
him so much of the one of that name which irrigates the 
lovely country about Cordova in Old Spain. As for the 
natives, they fled as soon as they saw the strangers ; and this, 
with the many columns of smoke he observed in the interior, 
confirmed his former belief that they were accustomed to 
the incursions of enemies, and had a code of signals for 
announcing the arrival of invaders upon their shores. 

At midnight the ships again set sail, following the coast in 
search of some principal town where a convenient landing 
might be made. Toward morning they overhauled a single 
Indian paddling along in the same direction. The Admiral 
was attracted by the skill and courage with which the savage 
handled his frail craft in the heavy sea which was then running, 
and took both him and his canoe on board. The change was 
a welcome one to the Indian, for he was feasted on bread 
and honey, and received many presents besides ; so that when 
the vessels came to anchor in a deep and convenient har- 
bor about five or six leagues from Port Conception, he hur- 
ried on shore in his canoe to tell his countrymen a generous 
tale as to the wonders of the white men. Near the anchor- 
age was a large settlement, which seemed to be but recently 
built, as the houses all were fresh and new ; and soon after 
the Spaniard's arrival the natives gathered on the beach to 



HIS UNCLAD MAJESTY. 211 

the number of five hundred or more. Many of them came 
out in their canoes to the vessels, and were taken on board 
and made much of; while the crowd on shore watched the 
extraordinary crafts which had entered their quiet waters, 
and eagerly interrogated all of their neighbors who had ven- 
tured to visit them. 

In a short time the Admiral noticed a young man come 
down to the beach accompanied by a number of older 
men. From the honor paid him by the other natives the 
interpreters declared that he must be the king of that 
region, and the older companions his counsellors. It was 
with no small degree of disappointment that Colon saw 
that the youthful monarch was, save for an elaborate coat 
of paint, dressed only in the total absence of costume 
affected by the natives of those islands ; but he none the 
less determined to do his duty to royalty, and accordingly 
sent Don Rodrigo Escovedo on shore with an interpreter 
bearing a handsome tribute for his Majesty. Don Rod- 
rigo, as became a dignified Spaniard and an officer of the 
Crown, discharged his mission with as much state and 
propriety as though the savage before him wore as many 
clothes as the Pope of Rome. Bowing low before him, the 
emissary presented his gifts, and asked the young prince to 
deign to receive them from the Viceroy of the Indies as 
representative of their Most Catholic Majesties of Spain. 
The interpreter explained at greater length to the king that 
the strangers came from heaven, where their own sovereigns 
ruled, and were travelling among these islands in search of the 
yellow metal which the Indians wore in their noses, but the 
white men wanted for some less apparent purpose. Just 
now they were anxious to reach the country of Babeque, 
where, they had been told, a great quantity of this precious 
material was to be had, and on their way thither had visited 
Hispaniola, and wished to make friends with the ruler of that 
beautiful country and take him under their powerful protec- 
tion. The king received the presents with a self-possession 
and decorum surprising in one who displayed so scanty 
a wardrobe, and after consulting with the old men who 



212 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

attended him, replied that he was pleased to hear all the 
interpreter had said ; that the way to Babeque lay to the 
eastward, and there was indeed much gold in that land ; 
in two or three days the strangers could get there ; and if 
they wanted anything m his country, he would give it to 
them with very great readiness. With that he took his de- 
parture, followed by the old men carrying the presents. 
" He used very few words," the Admiral writes, as though 
admiring the reticence of this savage potentate. On the 
afternoon of the same day the young king returned to the 
beach with his retinue, and came on board the flagship. 
The Admiral showed him every token of respect and honor, 
taking him into his own cabin, and setting before him a 
plentiful repast of the best the ship afforded. The king only 
tasted the thmgs offered to him, and then passed them on to 
his counsellors and those who were with them to dispose of 
finally. The Admiral tried to explain to him that the sov- 
ereigns of Castile were the most powerful princes in the world, 
and to impress him with an adequate idea of their grandeur 
and the extent of their dominions. But nothing would con- 
vince his guest that the strangers were mortal beings ; to him 
their home was in the skies, and the great monarchs the white 
chief talked about were the rulers of the celestial regions. 

In the morning of the next day, when a party of sailors 
went on shore to cast their nets they were overwhelmed 
with attentions and gifts by the natives. Among other 
things brought by the Indians was a number of unusually 
long arrows pointed at the ends with sharp bits of hard 
wood, which they explained had been used by the ferocious 
Canibals when they last had made a raid on the island. 
The Spaniards noticed that some of the Indians had what 
seemed to be holes in the fleshy parts of their bodies over 
which the skin had grown in ghastly scars, and they in- 
quired how such terrible wounds had been caused. To their 
amazement they were told that these men had been cap- 
tured by the Canibals, who had cut out the pieces from 
their flesh at one time and another and eaten them ; evi- 
dently intending to devour their prisoners by mouthfuls 



HIS UNCLAD MAJESTY. 213 

instead of disposing of them at once. The unfortunate 
captives had escaped ; but the terrible cicatrices of course 
remained. In recording this story the Admiral laconically 
adds, " This I do not credit ; " and we do not blame him 
for his lack of faith. The people of this neighborhood pos- 
sessed no weapons of their own, not even the rude spears 
which the Spaniards had elsewhere seen. They seemed to 
have no idea of fighting. When an enemy appeared they 
ran away and remained in hiding until he had left their 
coast, — a simple and easy method of resisting all invasion. 
They wore small ornaments of gold in their ears and noses, — 
sometimes a tiny grain or nugget, sometimes a thin plate ; 
and these they would gladly surrender for a few beads or 
the brass tip of a lace-string. One old man, who was ap- 
parently a person of authority among them, wore about his 
neck a plate of thin gold as large as one's hand. When he 
saw the avidity with which the white men traded for even 
the smallest pieces of the metal, he went into his cabin and 
broke his ornament into little fragments ; then bringing 
them out a few at a time, he bartered them off one by 
one, thus getting far more beads for his piece of gold than 
if he had exchanged it as a whole. This greatly amused 
the Admiral, and he remarks that the old chief's cleverness 
shows that these natives were more intelligent than most he 
had met. In the afternoon he took an interpreter and went 
on shore with the royal notary, Escovedo, and Diego de 
Arana, the alguacil, to collect as much gold as he could 
from the savages, and learn, if possible, more about the 
place from which it came. As they were conversing with 
the old chief who had shown the genius for trade, a large 
canoe arrived from the island of Tortuga, with a crew of 
forty or fifty men. As the boat drew near the beach, all 
the natives present squatted down on the ground as a sign 
of peace to the new-comers ; and as soon as the latter came 
on shore, they did likewise. This formality over, the old 
chief rose and made a furious speech to them, ordering 
them back to the canoe, and telling them to be gone with- 
out delay. This the Tortugans did without remonstrance ; 



214 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the old man following them to the edge of the beach, and 
splashing water over them to hasten their movements. Not 
content with this, he picked up some stones and hurled 
them after the intruders, pressing one into Diego de Arana's 
hand and urging him to do the same, which the latter pru- 
dently refused to do. When the canoe was gone the Ad- 
miral learned that in Tortuga there was more gold than 
among the people of the village, because the smaller island 
was nearer Babeque, whence the gold was said to come. 
Evidently the old chief did not want the other islanders to 
have any share in the good things of the white strangers. 
All this made the Admiral believe that the mines from which 
the gold was derived could not be far off, and revived his 
hopes of soon finding them. In answer to his questions, 
the old chief explained that the gold country was only four 
days' journey from where they were, and promised to get 
the Spaniards a large quantity on the next day. " I do not be- 
lieve that he can get us much gold," the Admiral writes, " for 
the mines are not situated here ; but I may be able to learn 
more exactly where they are." Accordingly he decided to 
wait one day more at his present anchorage, to discover if 
possible the location of the mines. 

The next day, December i8, was the festival of Our Lady 
of the O,^ or of the Annunciation, as we call it, — one held in 
very particular esteem by the maritime nations of Southern 
Europe. In honor of the occasion the ships were dressed 
with all their flags, and the officers and crews donned their 
holiday wardrobes and carried their brightest arms. From 
time to time salutes were fired from the small cannon of the 
vessels, and the Spaniards remarked with satisfaction the 
wonder and consternation which the discharge of the artil- 
lery caused among the natives who thronged the beach. 
Early in the forenoon, in the midst of these pious and poli- 
tic rejoicings, the young king made his appearance, carried 
in a litter on the shoulders of four bearers, and followed by 
an escort of two hundred of his subjects. With him came 

1 So called from a ring of rocks, near Segovia, where a chapel was 
built dedicated to the Virgin. 



HIS UNCLAD MAJESTY. 21$ 

his counsellors as before, and also his brother and his little 
son, the latter borne on the shoulders of a stalwart Indian. 
Entering one of the large canoes, the king came directly on 
board the flagship, and ran quickly aft to the cabin where 
the Admiral was at breakfast. Colon would have risen as 
he saw his guest enter ; but the king sat down by his side, 
making signs that he should not rise or disturb himself in 
any wise. The scene that followed cannot be better told 
than in the Admiral's own words : — 

" I thought that the king would like to eat some of our dishes, 
and directed that he should be served at once. When he en- 
tered the cabin he had made signs to all his people that they 
should remain outside ; and this they did with the greatest 
promptness and obedience in the world, all sitting down on the 
deck except two old men whom I took to be his counsellor and 
tutor. These entered the cabin and sat down at the king's feet. 
When I set the dishes before him he took only a little taste as 
we do for ceremony, and then he sent them to his people, all of 
whom ate a little. The same he did with the wine, touching 
his lips to it and then giving it to the others. All this he did 
with a wonderful dignity, using very few words, and those, as 
far as I could judge, appropriate and full of sense. The old 
men at his feet watched his lips and spoke with him, repeating 
all he said with a very great respect. After having eaten, one 
of his attendants brought him a belt, made very much like those 
of Spain, but in a different kind of work, which he took and 
then handed to me, with two pieces of gold beaten very thin. I 
believe they find but Httle of this metal in these parts, although 
I am sure they live near to where it grows, and that there is an 
abundance of it. I noticed that the king was attracted by a 
coverlet which was spread over my bed; and this I gave to him, 
with some really handsome amber beads I wore around my neck, 
and a pair of red shoes and a jar of orange water. With these 
presents he was so delighted that it was a pleasure to watch 
him, and he and his counsellors showed great regret that they 
could not talk with me nor I with them. Nevertheless, I under- 
stood that he told me that in case I had need of anything, the 
whole country was at my service. I sent for a rosary of mine 
to which, as a token, I had attached a golden excelente'^ on 

* An old Spanish coin worth about fifteen dollars. Las Casas says 
that he had seen and handled this very coin and rosary after Colum- 
bus's death, — apparently in San Domingo. 



2l6 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

which are stamped the Hkenesses of your Majesties, and this I 
showed to him ; telHng him that your Highnesses, as I had said 
the other day, ruled over the best portion of the whole world, 
and that no greater princes were in existence. I also showed 
him the Royal Standard and the banners of the Green Cross, 
and all this he admired mightily. He said to his counsellors 
that your Highnesses must surely be great rulers, since you had 
sent me so far from heaven without any fear ; and many other 
things he said which I could not understand, but it was clear 
that all he saw astonished him." 

When it began to grow late the king took his leave and 
started for shore, the Admiral showing him all the honors 
due a royal prince, and firing a salute as he left the flagship. 
On reaching land the king mounted again into his litter ; 
his little son was perched on the shoulders of one of the 
chief men, and the train moved away on the road to the 
town where he lived, which was some twelve or fifteen miles 
off. Meantime his brother had come on board the flagship 
to make his own visit, and was treated with much respect, 
although no such distinguished honors were shown to him as 
had been lavished on the king. After satisfying his curi- 
osity and receiving a number of presents, he also returned 
on shore and set out after the royal party. Some of the 
Spaniards who were wandering about in the village and its 
neighborhood met the cortege later in the day, as it was 
proceeding inland, and reported the details of the spectacle 
to the Admiral. In advance, they said, marched several of 
the native chiefs, each carrying one of the presents received 
by the king ; one bore the bedquilt, another one red shoe, 
a third its mate, a fourth the jar of orange water, and so on. 
Behind these came the litter of the king, followed by part 
of the escort ; then, after an interval, came the king's son, 
moimted on a chieftain's shoulders and accompanied by 
another detachment ; then, some distance in the rear, the 
king's brother, walking along supported on either side, 
as a mark of dignity, by a chief holding an arm. The 
sailors also said that wherever they had gone they had found 
that the king had issued orders that they were to be feasted 
and treated with much honor by the natives ; all of which 



HIS UNCLAD MAJESTY. 21/ 

gratified the Admiral exceedingly, as indicating that his pru- 
dent and considerate treatment of the Indians had borne 
the desired fruit. 

One only regret marred his pleasure on this busy day. 
Among the old men, or counsellors, who had accompanied 
the king was a certain venerable chief who showed himself 
to be much more communicative than his royal master. 
This ancient told the Admiral that within a hundred leagues 
or so of Hispaniola were many islands where gold existed 
in dazzling abundance, one of them even being composed 
of solid gold ! The natives of those islands, this veracious 
informant explained, obtained the metal by sifting it from 
the sands about them, and then melted it into bars or made a 
variety of figures with it, such as birds, animals, and so on ; 
all of which he drew with his finger for the Admiral's better 
comprehension. On hearing of such a bewildering plenty 
of the coveted gold, the Admiral was sorely tempted to hold 
the old man captive and get him to serve as guide to those 
alluring regions ; but he reflected that the seizure of a per- 
son so near the king would surely provoke the whole popu- 
lation, and so dismissed the idea from his mind. " If I 
only knew how to talk with him," the Admiral regretfully 
writes, " I would have asked him to go with me ; and this 
I am sure he would have done, so friendly did he show 
himself to me and all the other Christians." As it was, he 
resolved to seek these newly mentioned countries as soon 
as he had finished examining the island where he was ; and 
with this decision he dismissed the old counsellor, all uncon- 
scious of the dangerous distinction proposed for him. If 
we might hazard the conjecture, the old man may have 
been talking confusedly of the gold deposits of the main- 
land ; for we know that the Chiriqui Indians of Darien had 
great quantities of treasure, and worked their gold into such 
figures as he described to the Admiral. 

The Spaniards closed their day with an act of devotion 
befitting the festival they celebrated. Going on shore with 
a large company from both ships, the Admiral set up a great 
cross in the open square around which the chief houses of 



2l8 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the village were built. Seeing the white men engaged in 
the work, the natives flocked to their assistance and aided 
them in every way they could ; and when, the work com- 
pleted, the Spaniards knelt down to worship the sacred 
emblem, the savages all followed their example, imitating 
exactly their motions and gestures, vastly to the satisfaction 
of the Admiral, who saw in their humility the augury of an 
easy conversion. So kind had been their reception of the 
Spaniards, and so gentle were their manners in every way, 
that he called this harbor the Puerto de Paz, or Port of 
Peace. He says, speaking of the natives in general : — 

" All that they possess and think that we should like to have, 
these people bring to us ; and this with a spirit so willing and 
contented that it is a marvel to see. Nor must any one say that 
this is because what they have is of little value ; for whatever 
they own they give freely, without distinction of value, — pieces 
of gold as readily as gourds of water; and it is always easy to 
tell when a thing is given with a willing heart." ^ 

Thirty years afterward there was not a corporal's guard 
of these " savages " alive. The " Christians " had starved 
and flogged and worked and tortured the whole race off the 
face of their noble island. There is no moral to such a 
tale : it is all the other way. 

1 Las Casas records an interesting custom of Columbus : " When 
any gold or other precious objects were brought him by any one, he 
entered into his oratory and knelt down, asking the bystanders to do 
likew'ise, and saying, ' Let us give thanks to Uur Lord, who has made 
us worthy to discover such great treasures.' " 



^^^s 


m^ 



XVIII. 

A GLOOMY CHRISTMAS. 

WHILE sailing along the shores of Cuba and among 
the islands of Our Lady's Sea, the Admiral seems 
to have laid aside for the moment his eagerness to find at 
all costs the golden wealth of these fancied Indies, and aban- 
doned himself to the mere delight of living amid such 
peaceful and enchanting scenes. Once arrived among 
the people of Hispaniola, however, the sight of their glit- 
tering ornaments, meagre and trifling as they seem to have 
been, revived all the ardor of his earlier intentions, and he 
was now as keen to reach the source of gold — or " the place 
where the gold grows," as he sometimes terms it — as he was 
when first he noticed the precious metal in the noses of the 
Indians of Guanahani. 

Leaving the Port of Peace on the night of the i8th of 
December, he was driven about in the channel between 
Tortuga and the main island until the evening of the 20th. 
Continuing then his coasting to the eastward with a favor- 
ing breeze, he passed several capes and harbors, and at 
sunset of that day anchored in a noble bay lying between 
lofty headlands and sheltered toward the sea by a little 
island. This being the vigil of St. Thomas, he christened 
the islet by that name and the port as well, while he called 
the bay the Sea of the Port of St. Thomas, so great was its 
extent and so many the islands scattered over its surface.^ 
Here also a vast and fertile plain spread inland from the 
^ Now known as the Bay of Acul. 



220 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

harbor to where the mountain-ranges formed a towering bar- 
rier about it on three sides. To the Spanish sailors these 
sierras appeared to be even loftier than the Peak of Tene- 
riffe, although, unlike that awesome mount, they were covered 
to their summits with dense forests of gigantic trees. From 
the ships many settlements could be seen dotting the plain 
in the distance, while columns of smoke in the direction of 
the mountains bespoke the presence of others yet more re- 
mote. In this bay the vessels anchored and were soon 
visited by a canoe-load of Indians, who were treated with 
kindness and dismissed with gifts as usual. 

On the following morning the Admiral took the small boats 
and went on shore. Two men who had been sent to a neigh- 
boring height to look for the nearest village reported that a 
little farther along the shore was a large town situated only a 
short distance back from the water. Thither the boats were 
rowed, and at their approach the natives gathered in crowds 
upon the beach, and indicated by their gestures where a 
landing should be made. They exhibited a good deal of 
trepidation, however, when the strangers drew near their 
waiting-place, and it was only after the interpreters had made 
their usual declarations and exhibited their offerings that the 
savages came down to the water's edge and mingled freely 
with the Spaniards. Their numbers increased at every 
moment ; and as the new-comers arrived upon the scene they 
renewed the signs of welcome and astonishment with which 
the earlier arrivals had greeted their visitors. No sooner 
were the white men well on dry land than the natives brought 
them plentiful gifts of bread and other eatables, together with 
fresh water, both in gourds and in earthenware jars some- 
what after the fashion of those used in Spain. This was 
the first pottery the Admiral had thus far encountered, and 
he remarks the incident as showing the advancing scale of 
civilization in these people. Like the inhabitants at the 
Port of Peace, they were gentle and liberal, possessing no 
weapons and handsome of face and figure. The Admiral 
sent a small party inland to visit the town while he and his 
companions remamed at the landing and conversed with 



A GLOOMY CHI^ISTMAS. 221 

the crowd there as well as they could. During this inter- 
course a canoe arrived from another part of the bay, with 
a request from the chief of that district that the Admiral 
would visit him also. As soon as his scouts returned from 
their excursion, he prepared to comply with this request ; 
but upon seeing him about to leave them the natives on the 
beach near by raised a hideous lamentation and entreated 
him not to abandon them. Making his peace as best he 
might, he rowed along the shore to this second settlement, 
closely accompanied by the canoe of the messengers, who 
seemed fearful lest he should not visit their ruler. His ar- 
rival was clearly expected ; for on reaching the point of land 
where this chief's village was situated, the Admiral was re- 
ceived by him and a large throng of his tribesmen with loud 
acclamations of friendship and aifection. Moreover, a large 
supply of their choicest foods had been prepared ; and as 
soon as the boats approached the beach, the chief sent the 
banquet down to his visitors, making his own people sit on 
the ground apart meanwhile. Seeing that the white stran- 
gers accepted his hospitality, he sent men to fetch more 
food and parrots and whatever else they held in estimation, 
while himself with his following drew near the Spaniards 
and pressed their offerings upon them. When the Admiral, 
after distributing a generous portion of trinkets among these 
amiable savages, indicated that he must return to his ships, 
there was a general outcry of regret and protestation from 
the crowd, in the midst of which he rowed away still fol- 
lowed by some of his more ardent admirers in their canoes. 
His arrival at the vessels was the signal for a fresh outbreak 
of enthusiasm on the part of the population adjacent to the 
anchorage, and the ships were overrun by the people from 
shore. The number of canoes was not sufficient to furnish 
transportation to the curious multitude, and many swam out 
the two miles which separated the vessels from the beach. 
All these visitors, the Admiral directed, were to be treated 
with attention, allowed to satisfy their curiosity, and be 
given something to eat, in return for the kindness they had 
shown the Spaniards. Among his guests was a chief who 



222 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

came from a town some distance to the west of Port St. 
Thomas, and he too pressed the Admiral to visit his place, 
promising him much gold if he would do so. The Admiral 
was unable to go himself, but he sent some of his men to 
get the proffered gold and learn what they could of its 
source. These emissaries were well received on reaching 
this chiefs district ; but could not get to the village, as 
they had to cross a wide river which the naked Indians 
swam without trouble, but the Spaniards dared not attempt 
with their arms and equipments. Altogether the arrival of 
the ships and their astonishing contents, both animate and 
otherwise, made a most gigantic commotion throughout all 
that thickly populated region, and the news was evidently 
spread far and wide with great rapidity, by whatever means, 
arousing the curiosity and interest of all who heard it. 

The next day the Admiral would have left this bay and 
continued his voyage to the east ; but the wind did not 
serve, and he had to remain where he was. He sent a party 
again to visit the village in the west whose chief had prom- 
ised the gold, and this time placed Don Rodrigo Escovedo 
in command. By making a detour the party rnanaged to 
cross the river and enter the town. The chief himself came 
out to meet them, and taking the notary by the hand, led 
the way to his own house, followed by all the population. 
Here the visitors were given all they could eat, and pre- 
sented with some small pieces of gold, a quantity of cotton 
yam, and, as a special mark of esteem, three or four live 
geese. In return they gave their host the presents sent 
him by the Admiral, and to the natives at large some trinket 
for whatever they had brought to the Spaniards. When 
they left, the chief sent with them a number of his men to 
carry their cotton and fowls, and to help his visitors across 
the streams and marshy spots on the road ; both he and his 
people being greatly flattered by the visit made them by the 
white men. 

Meantime, all day long the canoes were plying between 
the ships and the shore, coming from all sides of the great 
bay. The sailors counted more than one hundred and 



A GLOOMY CHRISTMAS. 223 

twenty of these craft, some large and others small, but all 
loaded with Indians bringing articles to barter with the 
Christians, — cassava bread, fish, jugs of water, cotton, fruits, 
— whatever they possessed, in short. A party of the sailors 
had taken their own boat and gone to cast their nets at a 
distance from the ships, when they saw a great canoe com- 
ing around a neighboring point and steering directly for 
them. On reaching the boat one of the savages in the 
canoe handed to the sailors a belt from which was suspended 
a mask carved from wood, and having its ears, nose, and 
tongue of beaten gold. Judging from the Indian's gestures 
that he had something of importance to communicate, the 
sailors made signs that the canoe should go on to the flag- 
ship, and the natives paddled off at once in the direction 
indicated. When they were brought before the Admiral he 
found it almost impossible to understand them, as the inter- 
preters said that many of their words were unintelligible to 
them, and were unlike those of any of the other natives. At 
length he managed to gather that they had come on a mission 
from a great chief, or king, called Guacanagari, whose terri- 
tory lay farther to the east, and who wished the Spaniards 
to visit him. If they would come, he had sent to say, they 
should have everything he possessed. From what the 
messengers told him, as well as from the decorations of the 
mask, the Admiral inferred that this king must have an 
abundance of gold, and accordingly he promised to visit 
him without delay. Leaving three of her crew behind to 
serve as guides for the white men, the canoe promptly set 
out on her homeward trip to carry the welcome news to the 
savage prince. 

So impatient was the Admiral to verify the presumable 
wealth of this newly discovered monarch that he made 
ready to sail for his city on the next day, although it was 
Sunday; "and I do not usually leave a port on Sunday," 
he writes, " not from any superstition, but because I hope 
that all these people will become Christians ; " on which 
account he desired to set a good example. But when 
the day came he found himself still wind-bound, and there- 



224 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 



^ 



fore decided to send a detachment of men in the small 
boats, under the command of the notary, to visit King Gua- 
canagari, and make him such offerings as would likely be 
acceptable. Don Rodrigo was to assure the prince of the 
Admiral's early arrival, and inform himself as far as possible 
of the probable wealth and power of his Majesty. The boats 
set out under the guidance of the three savages who had 
remained for the purpose ; while those of the Spaniards who 
stayed with the ships devoted themselves to the incessant 
stream of curious natives who thronged the vessels through- 
out the whole day, coming apparently from every quarter of 
the compass. The Admiral estimated that at least a thou- 
sand visited them in canoes, while half as many swam out 
from the nearest beaches. The one aim of these savages 
seemed to be to give something to the white men, whether 
they received anything in return or not. As soon as the 
canoes got anywhere near the ships, the Indians would rise 
to their feet, and holding up their offering, call out, " Take 
this ! take this ! " as if fearful lest the white men should re- 
fuse their gifts. To all of them some trifle was given, in 
obedience to the Admiral's orders ; and those who seemed 
of chief importance he feasted on wheaten bread and honey, 
with such other celestial cates as they most appreciated. 

Among his guests this day were no less than five chiefs, or 
caciques, as his interpreters called them, accompanied by 
their entire households, including men, women, and chil- 
dren, — all filled with wondering eagerness to see the mar- 
vellous creatures who had fallen from the skies. Some of 
these chiefs the Admiral had already seen on shore ; and he 
now endeavored, through his interpreters, to get from them 
all the information he could regarding their own several 
parts of the country and the adjoining territories. All 
agreed that the island was of immense extent, and " full of 
gold." They told him that the people of the other islands 
came to Hispaniola to get this metal, by violence or by 
trade, according to their natures, and that the Spaniards 
could easily secure as much of it as they could possibly 
want. It IS as well to remember, however, that these unlucky 



A GLOOMY CHRISTMAS. 22$ 

beings had not yet learned the boundless greed of the white 
men for this yellow stuff, or the lengths to which they would 
go to accumulate it ; had they known, it is doubtful whether 
they would have been so unreserved in yielding their infor- 
mation. One of the caciques showed the Admiral how the 
gold was gathered in the interior ; another pointed out the 
direction from which it came, and named the several dis- 
tricts in which it most abounded. The richest of all these, 
the Admiral understood, was situated far to the east, and 
called Cibao ; and there, his informant averred, the king 
had banners of beaten gold. As if to give support to 
the welcome stories he was hearing, some of the natives 
had brought on board a few pieces of gold much larger and 
heavier than any he had theretofore seen ; and he did his 
best to induce that one of his visitors who had been most 
"frank and communicative to remain with him as a guide to 
the splendid region where this gold "grew." This the In- 
dian willingly consented to do, provided he might bring 
with him another man who seemed to be a relation or inti- 
mate friend ; and the two joined the other natives already 
attached to the fortunes of the white explorers. 

This renewed talk of wealth and treasure had once more 
raised the anticipations of the Admiral to the highest pitch. 
He believed, on comparing all that he had heard, that His- 
paniola was an island "larger than England itself;" and 
the latter was the greatest isolated body of land known to 
his experience. The rich territory of Cibao was clearly the 
Indian name for Cipango. The king with the golden stand- 
ard was of course the sovereign of that mighty Asiatic island. 
If he could but reach this land of mines and riches, he felt 
that his utmost hopes would quickly be realized. " May 
Our Lord, who has all things in His gift, come to my help, 
and grant to me as shall be for His service ! " is his pious 
exclamation in mentioning the tales of the caciques. And 
again he writes : " May God direct me in His mercy to find 
this gold, — I mean to say, this mine, — for many of these 
people tell me they know where it is." His thoughts were 
now no longer of cinnamon and mastic, of land-locked har- 

15 



226 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

bors and commanding sites for forts, of beautiful landscapes 
and peaceful natives ; his one engrossing thought was gold. 

It was after nightfall on this same busy Sunday when the 
boats returned with Rodrigo de Escovedo and the men who 
had accompanied him on his mission. He reported to the 
Admiral that King Guacanagari's town was situated on a 
river a long journey to the east of Port St. Thomas. On 
their way thither in the morning they had met a great flo- 
tilla of canoes crowded with Indians going to visit the ships, 
all of whom turned back when they met the boats and es- 
corted the Spaniards, with much rejoicing, to their king. 
Some of them had paddled on ahead with extraordinary 
speed to apprise their ruler of the white men's coming, so 
that when they reached the mouth of the river on which the 
town was built they were received by a large concourse of 
natives, who led them in triumph to the settlement. This 
the notary described as being by far the most imposing he 
had yet visited ; the houses being arranged in streets, with a 
broad and cleanly swept plaza in the midst of the town. To 
this place they were conducted, and were immediately sur- 
rounded by several thousand of the inhabitants, who made 
no effort to disguise their astonishment at the appearance of 
their singular visitors. In a short time the king himself 
arrived, and they presented themselves before him. He 
ordered food and drink to be set before them, and showed 
a keen desire to gratify them in all ways. The notary pre- 
sented the Admiral's gifts, and announced his approaching 
visit, whereat the king expressed his delight ; and after these 
formalities he took the Spaniards through the town. The 
people pressed upon them a multitude of presents, and for 
their own part seemed to consider as holy relics all the 
strangers gave them in exchange. The king himself be- 
stowed upon each of the Spaniards a piece of cotton cloth, 
while to their commander he sent several pieces of gold and 
a number of parrots. In the afternoon, when they wished 
to return, he and all his chief subjects begged them to re- 
main another day ; but on finding their entreaties of no 
avail, the king took his leave with many declarations of 



A GLOOMY CHRISTMAS. 22/ 

friendship, a crowd of his people marching with the Chris- 
tians to the boats, and carrying everything they were taking 
with them. On the whole the Admiral was well satisfied 
with Don Rodrigo's report concerning Guacanagari and 
his town. " If I can only celebrate the festival of Christ- 
mas in that port," he writes, " all the inhabitants of this 
island will flock to see it ; " and from the effect produced 
on the inhabitants at the Port of Peace by the Feast of the 
Annunciation, he looked for a still deeper impression to fol- 
low from the ceremonies of Christmas Day. 

At dawn on the 24th of December the ships weighed an- 
chor, and stood out of the Sea of St. Thomas with a favora- 
ble land-breeze. Rounding the cape which forms its eastern 
limit, they coasted slowly along toward the port near Gua- 
canagari's town. The wind gradually failed them as the day 
wore on, so that when night fell they were still ten miles 
from their destination, and barely making a steerage way. 

As the night was clear and the sea calm, the Admiral, 
toward eleven o'clock, determined to turn in. He had 
been on the watch ever since early dawn, and had lost 
his sleep the previous night, so that he badly needed rest 
before undergoing the fatigues of the coming day. It was 
not his habit, he says, to lie down when the ship was sailing 
near the land ; but on this one occasion he felt that he was 
peculiarly safe. Not only was the sea " as quiet as a por- 
ringer," as he puts it, but the sailors who had manned the 
boats with Don Rodrigo on the latter's mission two days 
before had carefully examined the whole course both going 
and coming, and reported that it was free and open, with 
no indications of reefs or rocks all the way to the king's 
port. Not satisfied to rely wholly on this apparently suffi- 
cient precaution, he called up the master of the vessel, a 
navigator of large experience, and handed over the tiller to 
him, charging him strictly to keep a sharp lookout, and rouse 
him at any indication of change in sea or sky. 

Seeing the Admiral fast asleep in his cabin, the dead calm 
continuing, and the sea without a ripple, the master thought 
that he too might take his rest, and none be the wiser or the 



228 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

worse for his comfort. Summoning one of the younger sailors, 
— the Admiral calls him " a boy," perhaps in angry contempt ; 
for his standing order was that the helm should never be 
intrusted to the ordinary seamen, — the master turned the 
watch over to him, and, wrapping himself in his cloak, went 
sound asleep in some sheltered nook. A little later on — 
not so much as an hour — the drowsy seaman who held the 
tiller felt a tremor in his hand, and noticed the rudder jar 
with a motion which was unmistakable. His loud cry of 
alarm awoke both master and Admiral ; but the latter was 
the first to reach the steersman's side. He did not need 
the sound of the breakers close at hand to tell him what 
had occurred ; the easy, steady rasp of the vessel's keel as 
she drove deeper into the sands thrilled through his whole 
frame with a message as plain as it was terrible. The ship 
had been carried imperceptibly on a sand- bank, upon which 
she was every moment drifting farther. The " Santa Maria," 
his flagship, was ashore in a savage country ; the little 
" Nina " alone remained to carry a hundred souls back to 
Spain across that wide ocean ! 

Quickly observing that the ship was settling into the shoal 
broadside on, he ordered the master to take the barge and 
cast an anchor off as far as possible astern in the deep water, 
intending to work the ship off with the capstan if it could be 
done. But that worthy, either losing his head on seeing the 
consequences of his negligence or else from sheer terror, 
instead of obeying orders, set off with all hands in the barge 
for the " Niiia," which was about half a league to windward. 
Here they found cold comfort ; for Vicente Yaiiez, on hearing 
their story, railed at them for arrant cowards, and flatly re- 
fusing to let them put foot in his ship, bore down to render 
assistance to his commander as in duty bound. As for the 
Admiral, when he saw his barge disappear in the darkness 
in the direction of the " Niria's " light, he knew he was de- 
serted, and promptly set about cutting away his mainmast 
and heaving overboard some of his cannon and other heavy 
truck with a view to lightening the ship. All his efforts 
were futile, however ; for the one chance of salvation had 



A GLOOMY CHRISTMAS. 229 

been lost in the barge's flight. Little by little the " Santa 
Maria" worked on to the bank until she lay sunk deep in 
the sand with her broadside toward deep water. Seeing 
that he could not get her off in the darkness, and knowing 
nothing of the lay of the land, the Admiral took off all his 
crew and put them on board the " Niiia " for safety. 

As soon as it was dawn, he despatched Diego de Arana and 
Pedro Gutierrez in the " Nina's " boat to inform Guacanagari 
of his disaster, and ask him to send canoes and men to aid 
in unloading the wreck. Never did tale of distress fall on 
more sympathetic ears, if we may believe the report of the 
Admiral's envoys. The king shed tears of grief at hearing 
of the catastrophe which had overtaken the white men, and 
instantly ordered his people to go with their canoes, large 
and small, to the scene of the wreck, and do whatever 
the strangers should require of them. He himself came 
down to the beach soon after to watch the progress of the 
work ; for the shoal on which the vessel lay was close to the 
site of his town. From time to time he despatched attend- 
ants to learn how the labors were advancing, and to repeat 
his offers of assistance. The Admiral was not to grieve over 
his misfortune, the king said, for he, Guacanagari, would 
give him all he owned to console him for the loss of his 
ship. As it proved at last to be impossible to get the 
" Santa Maria " off, the natives and their canoes were used 
in unloading the ship and transporting her cargo and stores 
to the shore. When he learned of this, the king caused a 
number of houses near the beach to be vacated, and directed 
that all the articles from the wreck should be stored in 
them. In a very short time the hulk was stripped of every- 
thing portable. So scrupulous were these savages in hand- 
ling the goods intrusted to them that, notwithstanding the 
inestimable value they placed upon all they handled, the 
Admiral says " not a pin was missing, nor a crumb of bread." 
The king ordered two more houses to be vacated and swept 
clean as evening drew on, and these he gave to such of the 
Spaniards as were detailed to remain on shore over night ; 
while he placed a guard of his own men to see that nothing 



230 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

was disturbed. The Admiral himself slept on the " Niiia," 
anchoring her as near to the king's town as he could get 
with safety. 

The prompt and generous help rendered by Guacanagari 
and his people made necessarily a profound impression upon 
the Admiral, and materially influenced his future course. 
Ever since landing on Guanahanl, the Spaniards had had 
constant experience of the generosity of the natives ; but 
between the indiscriminate liberality of the other savages 
and the thoughtful and painstaking hospitality of this prince, 
there was a broad difference. The one was dictated by a 
frank and magnanimous desire to be of service to friends in 
distress ; the other by a childish anxiety to stand well with 
the superior beings such as the Indians supposed the white 
men to be. On the one Colon felt that he could rely ; to 
the other he would not, perhaps, have been willing to trust 
after the first emotion of amazement had worn ofif. More- 
over, in none of the other islands had he discovered any 
traces of discipline or government ; but wherever he had 
landed in Hispaniola he had found some kind of a civil 
organization, although none of the caciques seemed to have 
so complete a command over their people as Guacanagari 
had shown that he possessed when this emergency arose. 
The king clearly had an individuality of his own which 
strongly impressed the Admiral, and the latter seems to have 
regarded him from the outset as a worthy comrade and ally. 
"These people are admirably faithful, and free from all 
covetousness," he writes in closing his account of the ship- 
wreck; "and more than all others is this virtuous king." 
There were other reasons why he was drawn to the natives 
of Hispaniola to a greater degree than to any of the other 
islanders. The inhabitants of this region were industrious, 
so far as their needs demanded, as was shown by the care 
with which their fields were tilled and the pains bestowed 
upon their houses and canoes ; they were numerous and, to 
all appearance, undisturbed by the neighboring tribes ; and 
they were peaceable in disposition, as was evidenced by the 
total absence of weapons. Even the glaring colors with 



A GLOOMY CHRISTMAS. 231 

which they painted themselves, the Admiral had learned, 
were not worn to terrify their enemies, as he had at first 
supposed, but to protect their skins from the sun. Finally, 
the country was fertile, abounding in provisions and prom- 
ising to prove rich in the products of mine and forest. For 
all these reasons it invited to settlement. 

These considerations passed through Colon's mind, we 
may gather from his writings, even in the hurry and occu- 
pation of discharging the wreck of the " Santa Maria." He 
was ever a man of quick resolve and instant execution, and 
the problem now before him called for the exercise of both 
these qualities. The " Nina" was the only vessel remaining 
of the fleet, and therefore the one means left of commu- 
nicating with that distant world beyond the broad Atlantic. 
Her company, originally of twenty-four, had been increased 
by the Indians taken on board from time to time ; and now 
nearly eighty more souls, between the Spaniards and their 
native followers, were dependent on this single little bark 
for transpcjrtation. Vicente Yafiez had thus far shown none 
of the spirit of insubordination which dominated his brother 
Martin Alonzo ; but there was no assurance that a mutiny 
might not break out among the crews ; and m such an ex- 
tremity the captain might yield to the pressure and side 
with his townsmen of Palos. In such an event what would 
become of those who stood by the Admiral, and, above all, 
what would be the fate of the stupendous discovery which 
had at length crowned the toils and devotion of Colon him- 
self? We do not believe for a moment that this man occu- 
pied his mind with concern about his own fate ; we believe 
that, like other men of lofty aims, this was a matter of small 
concern to him in crises such as this was. But he knew that 
he carried in his own brain the secret of the route to this 
western world ; and the thought that this might be lost, or if 
finally rediscovered by the labor of others after his own 
death or disappearance, might be used only for purposes of 
individual greed or sordid ambition, moved him to look 
upon himself impersonally as a guardian and trustee for 
these new lands which he believed the Almighty had in- 



232 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

trusted to his keeping. In this persuasion he determined 
to go to any lengths rather than run the risk of his knowl- 
edge and purposes perishing with himself in that unknown 
corner of an unmapped sea. 

Only the night before he had gone to rest planning fresh 
achievements and buoyed with new hopes, which had for 
their foundation the impression he would make upon Gua- 
canagari by celebrating in all its pomp and circumstance 
the great festival of the Christian year in the capital of the 
heathen prince. Now he was a shipwrecked sailor, assailed 
by a flood of cares and dangers against which his only bul- 
wark was the continued friendship of this naked savage. In 
so different a fashion from that which he had anticipated 
did the Admiral pass the first Christmas known to the New 
World. 




XIX. 

THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 

AS a measure of precaution and to curb any possible 
attempt at desertion on the part of the crew of his 
remaining vessel, the Admiral had transferred his flag at once 
to the " Nina " and remained on board that ship. On the 
morning after the loss of the " Santa Maria," shortly after 
sunrise, the king came to visit him and assured him of his 
earnest sympathy at the disaster which had befallen. Guaca- 
nagari repeated his former messages, — that he and his people, 
their houses, canoes, and all they owned, were at the disposal 
of the white men, and whatever the latter wanted should be 
done. While he and the Admiral were conversing, several 
large canoes came alongside, bringing numbers of Indians 
with pieces of gold to exchange for hawk-bells. On draw- 
ing near the ship, the savages rose in their boats and held 
up the shining bits of metal, crying out, " Chuque, chuque ! " 
in imitation of the sound of the bells they were so wild to 
possess.^ For a single tiny bell they willingly gave any 
piece of gold they had, regardless of its size, and after 
trading away all that they had brought, earnestly begged the 
Spaniards not to dispose of all their bells to the other 
Indians who should come, but to save some for the present 

1 Chuqtd is "gold" in one of the languages of ancient Peru, and 
" dance " in another. It is possible, in view of the wide extent of the 
Inca Empire, and the extended traffic which we know existed even in 
those early times among the natives of the New World, that the word 
was used in one of these senses, and misunderstood by the Spaniards. 



2 34 '^^TH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

traders until the following day, for then they would bring 
lumps of gold as large as their hands. This the Admiral 
promised should be done ; for he understood from the king, 
or those who were in his company, that these canoes came 
from a distance, and that wherever the tinkle of the little 
bells had been heard the natives were seized with a veritable 
passion for them. Soon afterward some of the sailors who 
had spent the night on shore came off to the " Nina," and 
reported that in the village, too, the Indians were offering 
gold in quantities, giving it to the Spaniards for anything at 
all^ — a piece weighing an ounce or more in exchange for a 
brass lace-point, and other like extravagances. Nor was 
this only a momentary abundance, the seamen said ; for the 
villagers had told them that what they then brought was 
nothing at all in comparison with what they should bring to 
the strangers in a few weeks' time. At this news the Admiral 
showed so much gratification that Guacanagari observed the 
change in his bearing and inquired the cause. On learning 
what it was, he bade his host be of good cheer, for he should 
have as much of this metal as he desired. Not far from 
there, he said, in Cibao, it was so plentiful that the people 
held it in such little esteem that it might be had for the 
asking, and he would send at once and have a great store of 
it gathered for the white men. These were welcome tidings 
to the Admiral, coming as they did just when the future was 
so doubtful, and he began to feel that good might, after all, 
come out of the evil he had suffered. The king remained 
to breakfast with him, and the Admiral took pleasure in 
watching the extreme propriety with which his guest acted. 
The meal finished, he presented the king with a silken shirt 
and a pair of gloves, with which elaborate raiment his Ma- 
jesty was so delighted that he insisted on wearing at least 
the garments for his hands throughout the day. 

Later on the Admiral took Guacanagari ashore in the 
barge and accompanied him to his town. The king showed 
his guest about the place, and then walked with him some 
distance through the adjacent forest, more than a thousand 
of the inhabitants following in their train wherever they went. 



THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 



235 



Their excursion ended, the king led the way to one of the 
principal cabins in the village, where a feast was spread for 
the Admiral and his party. In the preparation and service 
of this repast every effort was made to show the white com- 
mander in what particular esteem and honor he was held 
by the savage prince. The dishes consisted of everything 
known to the native palate, — yams, game, fish, shrimps, 
cassava bread, red peppers, fruits, and many eatables wholly 
unfamiliar to the Spaniards. Each dish on the table — or, 
properly speaking, on the ground — was pressed upon the 
surfeited guests, so that the entertainment lasted a long time. 
At its conclusion Guacanagari and the other natives present 
rubbed their hands with certain leaves which were brought 
them for the purpose ; but to the Admiral and his suite water 
was offered, the king having remarked that the white men 
washed their hands after eating. When they rose from the 
collation, Guacanagari led the way to the beach, conversing 
as he went about the occasional inroads of the dreaded 
Canibals — or Caribes, as he called them — and the terrible 
weapons they used. The Admiral assured him that such 
arms had no terrors for the Spaniards, and, to give him a 
demonstration of the superiority of the white men in this 
respect, sent for one of his men-at-arms who was an ex- 
cellent marksman with the Moorish bow. The skill and 
deadly power shown by this adept greatly impressed the 
king and all who were with him ; but when, in obedience 
to the Admiral's orders, an arquebuse and cannon were dis- 
charged from the " Niiia," and the balls went crashing 
through the forest, tearing off leaves and branches as they 
passed, the wonder of the savages knew no bounds. With 
these same thundering and irresistible weapons, the Admiral 
told his host, would the sovereigns of the white men send 
and destroy the Caribes, or bring them captive to Hispaniola, 
with their arms tied behind their backs just as they had 
done to the islanders. In such intercourse the day was 
spent, both the savage cacique and the white commander 
delighted with their experiences. At parting the king gave 
the Admiral another large mask, with eyes, ears, and nose of 



236 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

gold, together with a number of other golden ornaments, 
some of which he hung about his guest's neck, and one, a 
sort of coronet, he placed upon his head. To the other 
Spaniards he also made presents of pieces of gold, declaring, 
as they left, that before long they should receive still greater 
quantities of the precious metal. 

The Admiral's purpose in spending the day with Guaca- 
nagari had not been one of mere pleasure. He had de- 
cided upon the course to be pursued, and wished to inform 
himself more fully upon certain vital points, and prepare 
the ground for the action contemplated. Now he was 
ready. To take all his people back to Spain in the " Nina " 
was clearly impracticable \ to send her with despatches and 
await with part of his company the arrival of relief ships 
sent back to him by the Spanish Crown was to lean on a 
reed of the frailest; for the " Niiia " might never reach 
Europe, or if she did, her crew might report Columbus and 
the others as dead, and so reap all the credit and reward for 
themselves. To build another vessel from the materials of 
the " Santa Maria " would take a long time ; and the Ad- 
miral was constantly haunted by the thought that Martin 
Alonzo might return to Spain in the " Pinta," and not only 
claim the glory of the discovery, but propagate falsehoods 
destructive of the reputation and character of his leader. 
Relying, therefore, on the friendship and hospitality of 
Guacanagari, Colon had determined to erect at the mouth 
of the river, near the king's town, a small fortress, and garri- 
son it with such of his men as could not be taken on the 
" Nina," choosing only those who were disposed to remain. 
The hulk of the flagship would furnish them with timber and 
iron ; her cargo and supplies could be stored in the fort, and 
would be ample provision both for subsistence and traffic 
with the natives ; and during his absence the colony could 
accumulate gold, cotton, mastic, cinnamon, and all the other 
products of the island, and have them ready to ship by the 
time he returned to seek them. He in person would make 
all haste to Spain, report his discoveries, and equip another 
and more adequate expedition with which to complete the 



THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 237 

exploration of these new lands and permanently establish 
the Spanish power. The more he reflected upon this plan, 
the more it commended itself to him. The loss of two of 
his vessels and the paucity of treasure in comparison with 
the fabulous quantities of gold and pearls, spices and silks, 
which he had confidently expected to bring back with him, 
would, he apprehended, be seized upon by his opponents 
at the Court, and used as arguments to belittle the merit of 
his achievement \ they might even, he admitted to himself, 
succeed in deterring the Crown from sending out a second 
fleet, and then all his sacrifices and labors would go for 
naught. But with a colony planted in the New World the 
sovereigns would have to act, be the opposition what it 
might, and his garrison would thus be hostages to Fortune 
for the realization of his cherished aims. One more con- 
ception influenced him largely. These island regions were 
full of tantalizing mystery. Where was the country of the 
Great Khan? Where Babeque the golden? Whence 
came these already considerable quantities of gold which 
the simple natives treated as the dirt beneath their feet? 
What of those lands and monarchs of which the caciques 
and their people had told him ? Partly for want of time, but 
chiefly from imperfect knowledge of the language, he had 
only learned enough about these several matters to keep his 
expectations keyed to the highest pitch. If his chosen fol- 
lowers were to settle among these friendly subjects of Gua- 
canagari, however, it would be an easy thing for them to 
acquire the dialect, and thus, he argued, " discover the 
secrets of these lands." From every point of view he was 
satisfied with the project, and having formulated it definitely 
in his mind, announced his intentions to Vicente Yanez and 
the members of his own official household. Greatly to his 
content, it encountered little or no opposition. Many of 
the men, officers and sailors alike, had been charmed with 
the easy and indulgent life of the natives ; others among 
them had had their avarice excited by the sight of so much 
gold and the promise of so much more ; still others pre- 
ferred the mere prospect of adventures in a delightful coun- 



238 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

try and climate to the certainty of a long and tedious voyage 
across that endless ocean in a crowded caravel. Whatever 
their motives, it was evident that volunteers would not be 
lacking. 

Thus it befell that what at first had seemed a desperate 
remedy, now that it took clearer shape, presented itself to 
the Admiral's sanguine mind as a direct ordinance of Divine 
Providence. Had the " Santa Maria " not been wrecked, 
he would only have passed Christmas Day in this port, and 
then sailed on in blissful ignorance of the stores of gold and 
valuable productions to be obtained here at so trifling an 
outlay. Had the master of the stranded ship obeyed orders 
and cast the anchor astern as he was told, the vessel would 
have been warped off the bank and the voyage continued. 
Had the people of Palos, even, done their whole duty as 
loyal citizens, and furnished a ship of lighter draught than 
the " Santa Maria," she might never have gone on the shoal, 
or even if she had, would have broken up in a few hours ; 
whereas the timbers of the unwieldy flagship were yet sound 
and solid, and could be used to admirable advantage in the 
projected stronghold. Surely this was all foreordained by 
the Almighty, the Admiral thought. Now the garrison he 
should leave behind would be able to collect gold and spices 
in plenty, and discover the mines and forests where they 
grew ; so that a vast treasure would be ready against his re- 
turn. Beyond doubt they could gather at least " a ton of 
gold " and a vast quantity of precious spices in the time it 
would take him to go to Spain and get back ; and at that 
rate within two or three years there would be sufficient 
treasure hoarded to warrant the sovereigns of Castile in un- 
dertaking his fond dream of freeing the Holy Sepulchre 
from the filthy grasp of the infidel Turk. He writes on 
the evening of December 26 : — 

" So many reasons at present occur to me, that this no longer 
appears to be a disaster, but rather a great good fortune ; for it 
is certain that if we had not run aground I should not have ven- 
tured to come into this harbor, as it is difficult of entrance, and 
thus I should not have left a garrison here as I now intend 



THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 239 

doing; and even if I had wished then to leave them, I could 
not have furnished them with so large an equipment of ammu- 
nition and supplies, nor all that is wanted for their fort. Now 
it also appears that very many of my people who were ship- 
wrecked wished to remain here, and they have asked me, or got 
others to ask me, to give them permission to stay. For this 
cause I have ordered that a fortress and keep should be erected 
at this place, all very carefully built, together with a large 
storage vault under ground. This is not because I have any 
fear concerning these people ; for, as I have before said, with 
my present force I could take possession of their whole island, 
although it is, I am sure, greater than Portugal, and has twice 
as many people ; but they are all naked, and have no weapons, 
and are cowards beyond all hope of recovery. The reason why 
I build this fort is because this place is so far away from Spain, 
and also in order that these people may learn something of the 
power of your Highnesses' subjects, and how much they can 
accomplish, and so obey them with fear and affection. From 
the wreck we can get timber and iron to construct the fort, and 
plenty of bread and wine for more than a year, and seeds for 
raising crops, and a barge for the use of our men. I shall leave 
here a calker, a carpenter, a gunner, and a cooper, and many of 
the other men who want to serve your Majesties and do me 
pleasure by finding out where the gold is gathered. And thus 
everything has turned out very conveniently for making this 
first settlement." 

In such ready fashion was distress changed into rejoicing, 
and fearful foreboding into sanguine hope. Colon was not 
the only wise man whose mind has taken more kindly to 
the "ifs" than to the "buts" of futurity. 

Work on the fortress was begun at once. The Admiral 
called the colony he proposed to establish the Villa de la 
Navidad (or Christmas Town), in honor of the day on 
which he had made his disastrous landing. The men set 
about their task with a will, — those who were to stay anx- 
ious to commence their independent life, and those who 
were to go as desirous to turn their faces toward Spain. It 
was no secret that the Admiral intended to return immedi- 
ately across the Atlantic; and partly for this cause, and 
partly to impress the natives with the strength and skill of 



240 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the white men, he pushed the construction of the Uttle 
stronghold with all the energy he commanded. The king 
and his followers were pleased beyond measure when they 
learned that the strangers were going to settle among them, 
and lent themselves to the work with willing hearts ; but 
when he understood that the Admiral himself was going 
away, Guacanagari was disconsolate. He begged his visitor 
to remain, saying that he had sent men in all directions to 
collect gold, and if the Admiral would only wait, he would 
cover him from head to foot with the metal he prized so 
much. On the 27th he came again on board the " Nina," 
with his brother and a chief who seemed to be a sort 
of privy councillor, and breakfasted. During the meal the 
king said that his two companions wished to accompany 
the Admiral to the country he was going to, and return with 
him when he came out again. To this Colon very gladly 
agreed, recognizing the importance of presenting to the 
Spanish sovereigns a native prince, the brother of a power- 
ful and friendly monarch. As they were discussing this 
matter, a canoe arrived from shore bringing several Indians, 
who told Guacanagari that a great boat like the " Niiia," 
filled with the same kind of white beings, was lying in a 
river at the eastern end of the island. The Admiral knew 
at once that this must be the " Pinta ; " but, relieved as he 
was to learn that Martin Alonzo had not gone back to Spain 
to rob him of the credit of the discovery, he was much dis- 
turbed by the thought that his lieutenant was probably ran- 
sacking the coast for gold, and thus interfering seriously 
with his own intentions. Observing the anxiety with which 
the news affected his host, the king offered to despatch a 
canoe to the river mentioned to verify the truth of the re- 
port. This proposal was gratefully accepted by the Admiral, 
who also sent one of his reliable men to carry letters of a 
friendly tenor to Martin Alonzo, urging him to rejoin the 
"Nina" without delay. The knowledge that the "Pinta" 
was somewhere near and might make her appearance any 
day, placed Colon in a cruel embarrassment. On the one 
hand, could he but depend on her captain for loyal assist- 



THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 24 1 

ance, he would have been able to complete his examination 
of the shores of Hispaniola, and even continue his explora- 
tions in other directions, before resuming his homeward voy- 
age ; on the other hand, he might be placed in a most 
critical position were his headstrong subordinate to find him 
in this crippled and dependent condition. In this dilemma 
he resolved to hasten the construction of the fort and get 
under weigh at the earliest possible moment. It would be 
better, he argued, to meet the " Pinta " at sea, when he was 
bound ostensibly for Spain; even Martin Alonzo's men 
would probably side with the Admiral when the question 
was whether to remain longer in these distant waters or 
sail direct for Palos and home. Accordingly he spent most 
of his time now on shore, directing and animating the men 
in their work of digging ditches and setting up stockades ; 
using meanwhile all his tact and diplomacy to confirm the 
favorable disposition of the king. 

Guacanagari, indeed, seemed only to be anxious to win 
the favor of the white commander and convince him of his 
desire to enrich the strangers. He had evidently given 
orders that his people should not tell exactly where the gold 
came from, so that he might continue to be the only source 
from whom the Spaniards could obtain it ; but his attempted 
monopoly was rather the fruit of a friendly jealousy than of 
greed, for he continued to shower presents upon the Admi- 
ral and the officers with all his original generosity. At one 
time it would be masks with golden decorations ; at another 
plates of gold to hang about the neck ; still again it was 
nuggets of the virgin metal. Nor did he prohibit his people 
from trading freely with the sailors ; on the contrary, the 
latter continued to receive daily additions to their treasure, 
— or rather to that of the Crown ; for they had to make a 
return of all they secured to the royal inspector, Rodrigo 
Sanchez. The king's one object in establishing this pro- 
hibition was, by being himself liberal and generous in sup- 
plying the coveted metal, to prevent the Spaniards from 
caring to seek beyond his dominions for the yellow stuff 
they thought so much of. In this and others of his dealings 

16 



242 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

there was a transparent effort at mystery which reminds one 
of the elaborate devices of children at play. One evening, 
for example, he sent a handsome mask on board the 
"Nina" for the Admiral, with a request that the latter 
would let him have a water-basin and a jug ; but Colon had 
no difiiculty in discovering that the king intended to have 
others like them made of gold to present to his white friend 
and ally. On another occasion, when the Admiral went 
ashore in order to confer with him about the garrison which 
was to remain under his protection, Guacanagari, instead of 
meeting him on the beach as he usually did, hid himself in 
his house, and sent his brother to receive his visitor. The 
younger prince led the way ceremoniously to one of the 
houses set apart for the Spaniards' accommodation, and 
after seating the Admiral on a bench of honor which had 
been prepared, sent a messenger to advise the king of his 
distinguished guest's arrival. In a moment Guacanagari 
came running into the apartment, and, embracing the Ad- 
miral with every display of affection, hung a large plate of 
gold about his neck as an especial insignia of rank. All this 
performance, the Admiral remarks, was arranged- for the sole 
purpose of doing him the greater honor. The king's arti- 
fices were not always successful, however, nor were his in- 
junctions implicitly obeyed ; and thus it happened that the 
Spaniards not only learned where the gold came from, but 
a member of the king's own family was their informant. 
The Admiral himself questioned every one he talked with 
upon this absorbing subject ; but so far all his efforts had 
been in vain, for the Indians either evaded an answer alto- 
gether or feigned ignorance. A nephew of Guacanagari, a 
young man of quick intelligence and frank disposition, came 
oue day on board the " Niria," and, as was his wont, the 
Admiral talked with him about the gold. Among other 
things, he asked him the situation of the mines whence it 
was drawn. Nothing loath, the young fellow told his inter- 
rogator that it all came from the eastern part of Hispaniola 
itself, — or Bohio, as he called the island, — and he named 
the countries of Cibao, Guarionex, Coroay, Macorix, Mayonic, 



THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 243 

and Fnma, where he said the metal was found in such quanti- 
ties that it had no value at all. Happy in this discovery, the 
Admiral hastened to write down in his diary all the young 
man had told him, supposing these names to refer to islands 
in the vicinity of Hispaniola, although he later discovered 
that they all were provinces or districts of that same island.^ 
As for the young man, he adds, when the king learned what 
had occurred, he read his nephew a serious lecture on his 
heedless conduct. 

By the 30th of December the fortress was so far ad- 
vanced that the Admiral began to make preparations for 
the long voyage before him. He wished to consult Gua- 
canagari concerning certain of these matters, and went on 
shore to dine with him. He found the king surrounded 
by five of his subject caciques, all wearing coronets of gold 
and all, no doubt, deep in schemes to secure gold enough 
to satisfy the extraordinary fancy of the white men for such 
a useless material. On seeing Colon, the king ran forward 
and led him by the arm into the house prepared for his use, 
where he made him sit down on the bench of honor. Then 
he took off his own coronet and placed it on the Admiral's 
head with much ceremony and respect ; apparently wishing 
to give this token of affection in the presence of his chiefs. 
Not to be outdone, Colon took off the necklace of beads he 
himself wore, and fastened it around Guacanagari's neck, 
and throwing off the short cape or mantle he had donned 
for greater ceremony, he placed it over the king's shoulders. 
He also sent to his chest for a pair of new red buskins which 
he had the king put on, and drawing a silver ring from his 
finger, placed it on that of his royal host. This completed 
the joy of Guacanagari ; for silver was vastly more prized by 
the Indians than the more valuable metal, and the king had 
tried to get one of the sailors to part with a ring he wore, 
as the Admiral knew. It is evident that the latter felt that 
he had done all that could be expected of him, for in de- 
scribing this scene he writes that the cape was a new one of 

^ Guacanagari's own district was called Marien, and was the terri- 
tory near the cape now known as Haytien. 



244 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

broadcloth which he was wearing for the first time, and the 
necklace was " of handsome colored stones and choice 
beads of beautiful tints, which was quite fit to be worn in 
any place." At all events, his audience was overcome by 
his generosity ; for two of the caciques promptly came for- 
ward and gave him the large plates of gold hanging down 
from their necks in the palpable expectation of receiving in 
return, if not a mantle or a silver ring, at least a red shoe or 
a string of beads. In the midst of this second interchange 
of amenities, an Indian appeared and informed the king that 
only two days since he had left the other great boat of the 
white men in a port to the eastward of Navidad. On hear- 
ing this, the Admiral took it for granted that his messenger 
would surely reach the " Pinta," and she would speedily re- 
join him ; and he was mightily perplexed as to the best 
course to adopt toward Martin Alonzo should he arrive be- 
fore the " Niiia " had sailed from her present anchorage. 
Returning on board his ship to confer with Vicente Yaiiez, 
he was gratified to find that this one of the Pinzons at least 
was working for the success of the expedition ; for he re- 
ported to his commander that he had that day discovered 
rhubarb on one of the adjacent islands, and believed a large 
quantity of it could be secured with little effort, as he had 
observed the same plant in the port of St. Thomas. This 
was a matter of no little moment in Colon's estimation, for 
the root had a high commercial value and was one of the 
precious commodities imported by the Venetian merchants 
from Asia. He accordingly directed Vicente Yanez to send 
a boat's crew to gather a supply of the rare drug as a sam- 
ple to be shown the sovereigns on his arrival in Spain. It 
was one " spice " the more for the garrison to garner into 
their vault during his absence. 

The last day of the year was passed by the " Nina's " 
company in laying in a stock of water and firewood for the 
impending voyage. The Admiral spent his time between 
the vessel and the fort, anxious to see that both were put in 
the best possible condition for the respective parts they had 
to play after the approaching separation. His impatience 



THE FIRST FRONTIERSMEN. 245 

to set sail for home, to bear the tidings of his grand discov- 
ery, was tempered by a feeling of regret that he could not 
complete his exploration of the coasts of Hispaniola ; but 
the loss of the " Santa Maria " warned him of the danger 
attending the navigation of these unknown harbors, and he 
shrank from exposing his last remaining ship to such con- 
stant risks. He seems to have left the " Pinta " entirely out 
of his calculations at this juncture. As was his nature, now 
that he was advised of her proximity, he was going to en- 
counter the difficulty rather than let it overtake him ; but 
even after finding the missing consort, he realized that she 
would be of no assistance. His desire had been to search 
out the ports and sites along the coast best adapted for set- 
tlement and colonization, so that on his return he might 
bring a contingent of colonists with their cattle and imple- 
ments of agriculture ; ^ but, as he was now situated, he would 
have to act upon such information as he had already ac- 
quired regarding the capacities of the country for permanent 
settlement by Europeans. 

On the first day of the new year, 1493, the canoe de- 
spatched five days before by Guacanagari to search for the 
" Pinta," returned without any news of the missing ship, 
although the Spanish messenger reported that he had exam- 
ined every harbor and inlet for many leagues to the east- 
ward. The Admiral's disappointment at this failure was less 
than it would otherwise have been, for the " Nina " was now 
ready to set sail, and her course would lie in the direction 
where the "Pinta" was said to be cruising. His anxieties 
on this score diminished as the hour for departure drew 
near. What if Martin Alonzo had sailed for Spain eager to 
be the bearer of the great news and to secure the applause 
of his sovereigns for a success which he had done his ut- 
most to thwart? The Admiral knew that soon thereafter he 
would himself arrive to confound the ill-gotten triumph of 

^ It has been objected by some historians that Columbus was to 
blame for not paying heed to anything but the superficial riches of the 
New World ; but the censure is unjust. His language is explicit as 
to his rational and politic intentions in this respect. 



246 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

his disloyal follower, and give the lie to the malignant false- 
hoods he felt sure the lieutenant would publish regarding his 
commander. A natural feeling of satisfaction filled his mind 
as he reflected that within a few weeks, if God so pleased, 
the whole truth would be in the possession of the Spanish 
monarchs, and the rewards and punishments be distributed 
as was of right. In a burst of indignation which brings him 
the nearer to our hearts from its perfect candor, the Admiral 
enters these sentiments without disguise in the diary in- 
tended for their Majesties' own perusal. He writes : — 

"If I were certain that the 'Pinta' would reach Spain with 
that Martin Alonzo, I would not hesitate to make the exploration 
I so wish to make, trusting that in good time Our Lord would 
make all things right. But because I do not know what he may 
intend to do, and because if he reaches there he may fill the ears 
of your Majesties with lies, and thus escape the punishment he 
so richly deserves for having done so much harm by his deser- 
tion, and so greatly interfered with the benefits and advantages 
which would otherwise have resulted from this voyage, I have 
resolved to sail at once for home without completing my work of 
exploration." 

As we have seen, it was his original intention to remain 
in the Indies until April, and it was now only the beginning 
of January; so the treachery of the " Pinta's " captain had 
cut short his leader's career of successful discovery by three 
whole months. Since he had accomplished so much in less 
than that time, after first sighting Guanahani, what might he 
not expect to do in another equal term ? 



XX. 

THE RETURN OF THE "PINTA." 

BY the 2d of January all was ready for leaving the Villa 
de la Navidad and the hospitable capital of Guaca- 
nagari. The little fortress was well advanced toward com- 
pletion; its magazines were filled with stores, ammunition, 
and goods for barter ; its few small cannon mounted where 
they could best command the approaches by land and water. 
The garrison chosen to sustain the authority of Spain over 
the western hemisphere consisted of thirty-nine men under 
the command of three officers. In selecting the latter the 
Admiral had been largely guided by personal considerations. 
Not only were they to be representatives of the Spanish 
Crown, but they were to act for him as well, and he ap- 
pointed those of whose loyalty to his person he had no 
doubt. To Diego de Arana, Rodrigo de Escovedo, and 
Pedro Gutierrez the joint government of the settlement was 
confided. The first was bound to Colon by ties of relation- 
ship, the second had proven himself worthy of the warranty 
given him by the father superior, and the third had shown 
his friendship for his commander both by services at the 
Court in earlier days and by his conduct since. The men 
who were to serve as the pioneers of civilization and ex- 
ponents of its superior merits among the pagans of these 
hitherto fortunate regions were drawn from the crews of the 
" Nina " and the " Santa Maria." Only those who showed 
a cheerful willingness to remain were chosen ; and it is sig- 
nificant to remark that not a single man of those selected 



248 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

hailed from Palos or its neighborhood. The mutterings of 
those trying days on the calm Atlantic were still ringing in 
the Admiral's ears, and he was leaving none of the Pinzon 
connection behind him to stir up strife and discontent in 
that lonely colony. In the list of those detailed to garrison 
Navidad it is interesting to see the names of " William Irish, 
native of Galway, in Ireland," and "Tallarte de Lajes, Eng- 
lishman." ^ Thus early in its history did the rival races of 
the North and the South share the dominion of the western 
continent. 

Diego de Arana was to be the nominal governor of the 
settlement, although in all things he was to act in consulta- 
tion with his two associates ; the fatal principle of divided 
authority, so dear to the Latin heart, handicapping the suc- 
cess of the colony from the outset. To them jointly Colon, 
as Viceroy of the islands, committed all the powers devolved 
upon him by the royal decrees. He left with them strict 
injunctions as to the maintenance of discipline in all things, 
and most particularly in their relations with Guacanagari 
and the natives surrounding them. As the major part of 
the garrison were seafaring men, he left his largest boat, the 
barge, with them to be used in coasting expeditions for the 
collection of gold and spices and the discovery of the mines. 
With the same provident care he included in the colony a 
ship-carpenter, a gunner who was also a handy workman in 
wood and metals, a cooper for their stores of wine, a physi- 
cian, and a tailor. The store of provisions was, as we have 
seen, a plentiful one, and the stock of merchandise for the 
purposes of traffic was ample. Having made his dispositions 
regarding the essential welfare and safety of the people 
elected to uphold the authority of their Catholic Majesties 
under such difficult conditions, on the morning of the 2d 
he summoned the three governors and their thirty-nine men, 
and announced in terse and forceful sentences his orders for 

1 Various conjectures have been hazarded as to what English name 
this Romancized substitute represents. "Arthur Lake" is the latest; 
but the Spanish form of "Arthur " is Artus or Artur, and the de can- 
not be ignored. 



THE RETURN OF THE '' PINTA." 249 

their general guidance. For greater emphasis he divided 
his remarks into eight distinct injunctions, i. They were 
to attend punctually to their religious duties, for without 
God's favor their endeavors must come to naught. 2. They 
were to obey their governors in all things. 3. They were to 
reverence King Guacanagari, and strive always to gain his 
good-will and that of his people. 4. They were to do no 
harm to the natives in property or person. 5. Under no 
circumstances were they to scatter through the neighborhood 
or go far from the fort in detail. 6. They were to keep up 
stout hearts, and not allow themselves to pine or become 
downcast in spirit on account of their isolation and strange 
surroundings. 7. They were to procure guides to the mines 
if possible, and obtain not only as great a store of treasure 
and spices as they could, but also inform themselves fully 
concerning the country and its products. 8. He pledged 
himself to ask the Spanish sovereigns to bestow special favors 
and distinction upon all who were remaining at Navidad, as 
a reward for their loyalty and devotion. His return to His- 
paniola should be as prompt as was consistent with the 
distances to be traversed. At the conclusion of his address 
the men hastened to express, after their own fashion, their 
intention to abide by his instructions and their confidence 
in his protection of their interests. Only, they begged him, 
let his return be as soon as possible, and let their services 
never escape his memory when he found himself again on 
Spanish soil. 

The Admiral now turned his attention to the ceremonies 
attendant upon his farewell interview with Guacanagari. So 
far as his colony was concerned. Colon felt that he had done 
all in his power to provide for its secure and prosperous 
administration. The site of the settlement was not, indeed, 
as favorable a one as he could have wished, for he would 
have much preferred establishing his people farther along 
the coast to the east, where they would be nearer the 
country where he believed the gold was found. In the 
absence of the " Pinta " this had been impracticable, and 
he had chosen the port of Navidad as being near the town 



250 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

of the friendly king and among peaceable neighbors. His 
final efforts were devoted to cementing the alliance already 
so promisingly established between the natives and their 
Christian visitors. 

Guacanagari was to breakfast with the Admiral and his 
staff in the large house used by the Spaniards for their formal 
interviews. When the king entered the spacious apartment, 
accompanied by his brother and principal men, his whole 
deportment bore witness to the grief which possessed him 
at the prospect of losing his friend of a week. In the course 
of the banquet he repeatedly entreated the Admiral not to 
abandon him, promising him that he should have all the 
gold he wanted if he would only remain a little longer. One 
of the king's councillors took occasion to say to Colon that 
Guacanagari had sent out canoes and messengers in all di- 
rections to collect gold, with the intention of making a 
statue of the Admiral out of the precious metal, and that if 
the Spaniards would only remain for ten days the splendid 
gift would be ready. None of these inducements could 
shake the purpose of the white commander. His face was 
set toward Spain ; if golden statues were to be had, the 
officers he was leaving behind would see that they were not 
lost. Declaring his intention to be unalterable, he com- 
mended instantly to Guacanagari the colonists he was leaving 
at Navidad, assuring the king of the gratitude and generous 
recompense of the Spanish sovereigns if he would aid and 
sustain the little party during their leader's absence. After 
the meal was finished, he gave the king fresh presents — a 
robe and other garments coveted by the savage taste — and 
also distributed liberal gifts among the other natives. The 
more to impress both king and people with the boundless 
power of the white men's weapons, a sham battle was fought 
between the men of the garrison and those of the ship, the 
Admiral assuring Guacanagari that so long as he had such 
redoubtable allies at hand he could laugh at the raids of the 
Caribes or any other foes who might assail him. Training 
the cannon of the fortress on the hulk of the stranded flag- 
ship, he fired several shots at this as a target. The stone 



THE RETURN OF THE "PINTA." 25 I 

balls crashed through the heavy timbers and plunged into 
the sea beyond, amazing and confounding the assembled 
savages with their prodigious force. With such mighty 
friends to fight his battles, the king felt that he would in 
very truth be safe from every enemy. That he would remain 
on good terms with the garrison was a foregone conclusion ! 

When the hour came for the Spaniards to embark, the 
king's lamentations could not be restrained. Colon soothed 
his distress by assuring him that in a few months at the 
most he would be back and would then make a long 
stay in his country ; but nothing seemed to mitigate his 
woe. A great concourse was gathered on the beach when 
the " Nina's " boat was manned to make her final trip from 
the shore to the vessel. Colon was surrounded by his own 
officers and men as well as by Guacanagari's retinue. In 
the background was a dense throng of natives, gazing in 
wondering curiosity at the novel scene. Near by was the 
half-finished tower and palisade of the fortress, standing on 
the edge of the forest, in the clearing made for its greater 
safety. Behind all rose the dense wall of impenetrable 
woods, with the palm-thatched cabins occupied by the Span- 
iards showing among the nearest trees. Out in the offing 
rode the solitary " Niiia " at anchor, and close by was the 
fatal bank with the dismantled and crumbling hull of the ill- 
fated " Santa Maria " outlined against the green plain of 
the shallow sea. Beginning with the weeping king. Colon 
embraced in Latin fashion all the group about him, bidding 
each of his thirty-nine devoted pioneers a separate and 
affectionate farewell, while his staff made their adieus in 
turn. Then, saluting the king with formal dignity, he entered 
the boat and was pulled from shore. The first colony of 
Europeans was established in the golden Indies. 

It was the Admiral's intention to have set sail that same 
day ; but the wind failed completely, and he was compelled 
to remain at anchor. The next day, the 3d, he was detained 
by the absence of several of the interpreters and their wives, 
who had gone on shore and were not able to return on ac- 
count of the high sea which began to run. It was not until 



252 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the morning of the 4th, that he was at length able to get under 
weigh, and even then it proved necessary to tow the " Nina " 
for some distance out of thd* harbor before her sails filled with 
the light land-breeze which prevailed. In a little while the 
rocky mass of Cape Caribata hid from the Admiral's sight 
the port of Navidad and its familiar scenes. 

That he himself had no misgivings as to the welfare of 
the settlement is apparent from his writings, and, in fact, 
he had taken every precaution that knowledge and expe- 
rience could suggest. Nor did those who remained en- 
tertain any apprehension of the future. There had been 
some natural display of emotion at the time of parting, but 
the members of the garrison had shown themselves willing 
and cheerful at the prospect before them. They were re- 
maining of their own free will in the place of their choice ; 
and whatever regret or sadness there was, existed rather on 
board the ship, among such of the crew as would have pre- 
ferred the freedom of that pleasant life on shore to the ar- 
duous duty of manning the departing caravel. In the one 
case labor, privation, and no doubt danger were unavoid- 
able ; while in the other the fortunate colonists were as- 
sured of a long holiday of agreeable adventure and idle 
delight. Therefore the lighter hearts were those on shore. 
Confident that few though they were, they could withstand 
the attacks of every naked savage around them, even should 
their now hospitable friends be turned into open enemies by 
treachery or covetousness, the garrison anticipated no evil. 
What had they to fear? A few months would quickly pass 
in that favored region, and then their commander would be 
back, bringing them honors and rewards from their grateful 
sovereigns. The time did pass as rapidly as is its wont, and, 
true to his word, their leader landed at Navidad in less than 
ten months after leaving it. Some mutilated bodies, a burnt 
stockade, and a huddle of mouldy clothes and frippery were 
all that he found to mark the site of the colony from which 
he had hoped so much. From Diego de Arana, royal algua- 
cil and vice-regal deputy, to the unnamed tailor, every man 
was slaughtered, and not a word remained to tell the tale of 



THE RETURN OF THE " PINT A" 253 

how or when. The " Nina's " crew had drawn the greater 
prize in the lottery of life, little as they thought it. 

Doubling the neighboring headland, the Admiral steered 
his course along the coast. Throughout the day the land 
maintained its general character, — deep bays alongshore, 
wide plains near by, and lofty mountains in the distance, 
with native villages scattered here and there over the level 
districts. Owing to the line of shoals which fringed the 
shore, navigation was not wholly free from risk, and Colon 
made no attempt to land. He aimed to reach if possible a 
high and symmetrical peak which seemed to rise from the 
sea some ten leagues along the coast from Navidad ; but the 
wind fell as evening approached, and he had to anchor in a 
port not more than half-way to the landmark. On the mor- 
row he reached it and named it Monte Christi, in honor of 
the Saviour whose protection he had invoked in starting on 
this homeward voyage, as he had in leaving Spain. The 
mountain served as guard to a deep and spacious harbor 
which offered so favorable a site for future settlement that 
the admiral landed to inspect it. He found traces of the 
presence of native fishermen, and was much pleased with 
the suitableness of the place, particularly as he found an 
abundance of colored stones, quarried as if by nature, and 
admirably adapted for the construction of churches and other 
public buildings, — " like those which we found in the island 
of San Salvador," he adds with a touch which shows his close 
observation. Here also he saw many mastic trees, and he 
returned to the " Niiia " well satisfied with his examination. 
He enters with an appreciative pen in his diary the details 
of the noble panorama which was developing before his 
eyes as the ship pursued her course, apologetically saying 
that " far off to the south other very lofty mountains are visi- 
ble, with very wide valleys fertile and sightly, and a very 
great number of rivers, — all this to such a degree delight- 
ful that I do not think I could enhance its beauty by the 
thousandth part." Well might he enjoy to the full the 
peaceful scenes on which his eyes were feasting, for a new 
season of trial and constant anxiety was close at hand. 



254 ^V!TH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

On the following day, the 6th, soon after noon, the sailor 
who was posted aloft to keep a lookout for shoals ahead, sung 
out that he saw the " Pinta " in the distance ; and shortly 
afterward that vessel appeared in plain view bearing down 
upon the " Niiia " with a fair wind. The near prospect of 
meeting his insubordinate lieutenant, which was thrust thus 
suddenly upon Colon's mind, aroused at first a mighty im- 
pulse of angry resentment. The check given to his glorious 
career of success upon success by the desertion of Martin 
Alonzo ; the knowledge that it would be imprudent, if not 
impracticable, to punish him for his rank disobedience ; the 
apprehension lest other and greater troubles might yet be in 
store for him from the stubborn and independent nature of 
the " Pinta's " captain, — all these tended to break down his 
self-control and tempt him to indulge in reproaches and ac- 
cusations. On the other hand, he reflected that although 
he had many men about him on whom he could rely, the 
Pinzons commanded both ships now, and had all their own 
friends and dependants in the crews, and it was by no means 
certain that should an open breach arise, he would gain the 
mastery. To have to yield to Martin Alonzo in such a trial 
of strength would be, he knew, to place all the fruits of this 
toilsome enterprise again in jeopardy. Under these cir- 
cumstances he resolved to temporize and conceal as far as 
might be his resentment, accepting, at least in appearance, 
whatever excuses his derelict officer might have to offer. 
Therefore, when the " Pinta " came within hail, the Admiral 
answered her captain's salutations in kindly terms, and re- 
quested him to accompany the " Niiia " back to the harbor 
near Monte Christi, since there was no safe anchorage closer 
at hand. 

When the two ships were at anchor, ISIartin Alonzo came 
aboard the " Nifia," and was received by the Admiral with- 
out any outward sign of indignation. Pinzon undertook to 
account for his defection by saying that on the night he sep- 
arated from the flagship on the Cuban coast, the wind had 
driven him so far to the eastward that when day broke, 
neither fleet nor land was in sight. 



THE RETURN OF THE " P/A'TA." 255 

"Your Excellency will well believe," the wily captain said 
with mock humility, " the terror and confusion which over- 
came me at this untoward discovery. All that it was in my 
power to do to regain the coast of Cuba, I did with my 
ship, — and men have said that I am no mean sailor; but 
despite my stoutest labors and all my indifferent skill, we 
were driven far away to the east until we reached some bar- 
ren and rocky islands, I know not where. From there, with 
constant toil and peril, we have slowly made our way to this 
present coast, where, not many days ago, I learned from the 
natives that your Excellency was not far away with but a 
single ship. It needs not to be said that I lost no time in 
seeking for your Excellency, to offer my duty and place the 
* Pinta ' under your Excellency's orders ; and grieved I am 
to find that one ship alone remains. I venture to hope that 
your Excellency received the letter I sent by the natives 
who brought me the joyful tidings of your Excellency's 
proximity? " 

Of all this story the Admiral believed just one tenth. He 
was sure that in truth the " Pinta's " captain had heard of his 
presence in that vicinity and had come to meet him, as if 
voluntarily, in the conviction that at any moment the Ad- 
miral might fall upon him unawares. He was careful, 
however, to give no sign of anger or incredulity as he 
replied, — 

*' I thank you for your care and kindliness, Seiior Martin, 
although by evil chance the missive you despatched has 
failed to reach my hands. Most heartily am I rejoiced to 
have you with me again, for the * Nifla ' is but a doubtful 
dependence for the long and perilous journey that lies be- 
fore us, and our course must now be hence direct to Spain. 
The ' Santa Maria,' good ship, lies on the shoals farther to 
the west, and a large part of her company remain near by 
for want of room to carry them ; so the * Pinta ' is well 
come for more reasons than one. Were you fortunate in 
your search for gold, good Seiior Martin? " the Admiral con- 
cluded, as blandly as a child. 

" I found no great store, your Excellency," Pinzon an- 



256 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

swered, heedless of the trap into which he had fallen head- 
long ; " and such as I sometimes got in traffic with the 
natives where we landed for wood or water, I caused to be 
preserved for the royal treasury, but now it shall be deliv- 
ered to your Excellency." 

" Not so, Sefior Captain," the Admiral quickly replied, 
determined not to become responsible for any of his subor- 
dinate's possible misdemeanors. " 'T were better to remain 
in your charge, since by you it was discovered ; and when we 
are again in Spain a due accounting can be made of all to 
their Majesties. I doubt not," he added, changing the sub- 
ject, " that your ship needs overhauling, Seiior Martin, after 
her dangerous cruise. Please you, therefore, to order that 
she be put in condition to make the homeward voyage, while 
we are in so favorable a harbor. Again I thank you for your 
haste to join me." 

With this the first interview between the two men closed. 
Neither was deceived by the attitude assumed by the other. 
But the advantage lay with the Admiral ; for his forbearance 
robbed Martin Alonzo of any excuse for criticising his com- 
mander, while his own tale was known to be false by the 
commonest seamen. In the free intercourse which now 
set in between the crews of the ships which had been so 
long separated, the truth was bound to come to light ; and 
the more the Admiral knew, the deeper grew his indignation. 
The very " Pinta " herself bore mute testimony to the falsity 
of her captain's tale ; for her timbers were perforated up to 
the water-line with the tell-tale punctures of the dreaded 
teredo, — a fact eloquent of lengthy anchorages in land- 
locked ports. 

From the reports of the Indian interpreters on the 
'' Pinta " and others of her crew, the Admiral was soon 
aware of all that had befallen that ship from the night of 
the 2ist of November, when she was lost sight of, until the 
day when she so unexpectedly hove into view. As he had 
suspected, Martin Alonzo's cupidity had been excited by the 
interpreter's tales of the fabulous wealth of Babeque ; and 
on the night mentioned, finding the wind favorable and his 



THE RETURN OF THE " PINTA." 257 

vessel at some little distance from her companions, he had 
deliberately crowded all sail and left them to pursue their 
own way, confident that, as his desertion could not be dis- 
covered before morning, the " Pinta's " superior speed 
would frustrate any attempt at pursuit. Sailing to the east 
and northeast, in a few days he had reached a group of 
seven islands, which the Indians assured him were called 
Babeque ; ^ but save for the few paltry ornaments worn by 
the inhabitants, no sign of gold was visible. Realizing that, 
either intentionally or ignorantly, he had been deceived by 
his guides as to the wealth of the island, he now changed 
his course southward toward a great island spoken of by 
the people of Babeque as Hayti, where, according to their 
statements, gold was as abundant as stones. In a few days 
he reached its shores, and found among the natives unmis- 
takable proofs of the existence of the metal in great quantity. 
Following slowly along this coast, he gathered at every port 
new stores of gold, until, on reaching the mouth of a large 
river, he obtained it in such abundance that he spent six- 
teen days at this one place. While the " Pinta" lay at this 
anchorage, Martin Alonzo himself conducted a party of 
twelve of his men on a journey of several days into the in- 
terior, securing gold to the amount of a thousand ounces or 
more, and seizing four Indian men and a couple of women 
to serve as interpreters. This river he called the Rio del 
Martin Alonzo, after himself; and it was here that he first 
heard vague rumors of the presence of other white men in 
the territory of Guacanagari, not far off to the west. Either 
because he recognized the futility of trying to avoid the Ad- 
miral any longer, or because the '* Pinta " had become so 
riddled by the worms during her protracted stay in bad 
waters that he dared not attempt the voyage back to Spain 
alone, or from a mixture of both reasons, Martin Alonzo de- 
cided at this juncture to go in search of his leader. Be- 
fore leaving the river he shared with his men the whole 

1 It has been held, with some plausibility, that these were the island 
of Gran Caico and adjacent cayos, in the Bahamas group. Elsewhere 
the "shoals of Babeque " are frequently referred to. 
17 



258 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

treasure thus far accumulated, taking one half as his own 
portion and giving them the other half to divide among 
themselves. At the same time he urged his men to report to 
the Admiral's people, if they should meet, that the " Pinta " 
had been only six days in port, and had obtained very little 
gold. Sailing then westward, he had come within fifty 
miles of Navidad, reaching the point where he had been 
seen by the Indians who had reported the fact to Guacana- 
gari. Failing to find his sister ships, he turned about to 
resume the collection of gold, and was coasting leisurely 
along shore, stopping wherever he thought advisable, when 
the " Niiia " came in sight. Heading immediately for her, 
as though she had been the only object of his search, he 
had joined his Admiral in the manner we have seen. As for 
the letter he stated that he had sent Colon, and the anxiety 
with which he was seeking the latter after hearing of the 
loss of one of the ships, they were cut out of the whole 
cloth. 

As little by little the Admiral fathomed the full extent of 
Martin Alonzo's treachery and baseness, he found it the 
more difficult to restrain his anger and contempt. It 
proved necessary to remain in the harbor of Monte Christi 
two whole days, in order to repair the " Pinta " and supply 
both ships with fresh water ; and in his impatience to be 
once more under sail and bound for his sovereign's Court, 
Colon chafed under the delay. " I can no longer support 
detentions or tarry now for any cause whatever," he writes 
in his diary ; " for I have found that which I was seeking, 
and do not want any further trouble with this Martin Alonzo 
before your Majesties know what I have accomplished and 
all the events of this present voyage. After that, I shall no 
longer brook the acts of evil persons and those devoid of 
honor, who presume to do their own will without regard for 
him who has brought them to such high fame." One single 
incident is sufficient to show how determined Colon now was 
to hasten his departure at all hazards. In filling their water- 
casks from a small stream which fell into the harbor not far 
from the anchorage, the sailors had found the sands on the 



THE RETURN OF THE " PINTA." 259 

bottom to be so full of gold-dust that on drawing the casks 
from the water the glittering particles were clearly visible, 
lodged in the crevices of the staves and hoops. At another 
time the Admiral would have become enthusiastic over such a 
discovery and taken the utmost pains to secure as much as 
possible of the wealth thus offered to his hand. But now, after 
verifying in person the correctness of his sailors' report, he 
contented himself with naming the stream the River of Gold, 
and noting in his diary that the fine grains must have been 
brought down by the stream from mines near by. He 
explains : — 

" I did not think it necessary to take any of the sand which 
contains so much gold, for in any case your Highnesses have it 
all at the very doors of your town of Navidad ; and it seems 
wiser for me to make the more haste to bear the news of these 
riches to your Highnesses and get rid of the evil company in 
which I now am. They are people without shame, as I have 
often said before." 

He was, in fact, living in hourly expectation that Martin 
Alonzo would attempt some new " work of Satan," as he 
calls it ; nor, as we shall see, was his apprehension un- 
founded. It is amusing to find the great navigator, not- 
withstanding his anxieties and cares, solemnly entering in 
his journal that on the day when he went to examine these 
golden sands he " saw three mermaids, who raised them- 
selves high out of the sea ; but they were not as beautiful 
as they are painted, although they bear a certain resem- 
blance to human creatures in their faces. I had seen them 
before when voyaging to the Guinea Coast and Manegueta," 
he adds. It was in keeping both with the times and with 
the other marvels of the region he was exploring that he 
should have seen in a group of seals, or perhaps the sea- 
cows of these waters, veritable sirens such as would have 
lured Ulysses to his doom. 

During the sojourn of the ships in this harbor word must 
have been borne to Guacanagari that the white men were 
still lingering on his coasts ; for a messenger arrived from 
the king, who sent to beg the Admiral to return and receive 



26o WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the diaJio which had been promised him. The purport of 
the message was not intelHgible to the Admiral ; and he 
asked Vicente Yanez, who was standing by, what he under- 
stood to be its meaning. 

"By your Excellency's leave," the "Nina's" captain re- 
phed, " diaho in the speech of these people would seem to 
mean figure or effigy ; and I conceive the messenger to say 
that the king craves that your Excellency go back to Navi- 
dad, that he may present your Excellency with the statue of 
gold which he pledged himself to give at the banquet on 
our taking leave of him. It were truly a royal gift, Sefior 
Admiral." 

" Could we beheve that such were indeed the king's in- 
tent, Senor Vicente, I might be tempted to sail once more 
to Navidad; but in the doubt I care not to turn our 
backs on the homeward course," the Admiral answered, 
his distrust of Martin Alonzo rising as a barrier loftier 
than Monte Christi itself to warn him from returning to 
the colony. 

"As your Excellency wills, Sefior," Vicente Yanez said, 
with no little disappointment. " Yet again, by your favor, 
could your Excellency of a truth obtain the effigy, it would 
yield not less than two hundred ciientos,^ and be a worthy 
example of the wealth of these realms for our gracious 
sovereigns, whom may God preserve ! " 

"The thought is loyal, Seiior Captain," Colon responded, 
after a moment's reflection ; " but it behoves us not to linger 
on these shores. In our hold we bear abundant measure of 
all that is needful to instruct their Majesties as to the sur- 
passing value of these new domains, and the rest can well 
await our next coming. See that the messenger of our good 
friend the King Guacanagari is rightly entertained, Sefior 

^ A cuento is a million maravedies. Two hundred million marave- 
dies would amount to about two million and eighty thousand dollars 
of our money. The story rests on the authority of one of the bystand- 
ers, Francisco Garcia Vallejo, who gave it in evidence in the great 
lawsuit. Much of the material in this chapter is drawn from the 
records of the same suit. 



THE RETURN OF THE " PINTA." 26 1 

Vicente ; but when our sails are spread again, it must be for 
Castile." 

The Admiral's decision, when it became known, gave rise 
to much wondering comment among his people, — perhaps 
as was his intention. In any case, it was an unmistakable 
declaration as to his purpose to loiter no longer on his way 
to Spain. He himself had already concluded that he had 
sufficient gold to convince even the most incredulous of the 
plentiful existence of the coveted metal in the Indies he had 
found, and had even counted upon deriving some advantage 
from the disobedience of Martin Alonzo. " For I recog- 
nize, Seiiores Sovereigns," he writes, addressing his royal 
patrons with the extraordinary frankness habitual to him, 
" that Our Lord miraculously ordained that this ship [the 
' Pinta '] should remain in that place ; for it is the best 
situation in all the island for making a settlement, and the 
nearest to the mines of gold." 

At midnight on the 8th of January the two vessels weighed 
anchor and left the shelter of Monte Christi. After sailing 
for forty miles to the eastward along the coast, they an- 
chored on the afternoon of the 9th under a cape, which the 
Admiral named Punta Roja, or Red Point. The following 
morning they continued their voyage, and reached the river 
which Martin Alonzo called after himself, and where he had 
remained so long and so profitably with the " Pinta." Al- 
though the Admiral remained here all the afternoon and 
night of the loth, he did not set his foot on shore. Re- 
fusing to recognize the name given to the locality by his 
faithless officer, he rechristened it himself the Rio de Gracia, 
or River of Thanks, — as if from a feeling of gratitude 
that at last he was bound for home, and drawing daily nearer 
the end of all his trials. Here, too, he insisted upon the 
" Pinta's " captain restoring to their tribe the six captives 
he had taken when he landed here before. His lieutenant 
protested vigorously against this order ; but the Admiral was 
inflexible. In his view it had been an unwarrantable as- 
sumption of authority for his subordinate to molest the 
natives, and he compelled their release as an assurance to 



262 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the population that no harm was to be feared by the Span- 
iards. That Martin Alonzo was wilHng at length to yield to 
his commander's insistence and surrender his prisoners, is 
the first indication we find of his intention to submit again 
to his commander's supremacy. 

In the great lawsuit brought by Colon's son, Diego, against 
the Spanish Crown, the relatives of Martin Alonzo and es- 
pecially his eldest son. Arias Perez Pinzon, tried to turn to 
the advantage of the senior Pinzon all the incidents attend- 
ing the defection and return of the " Pinta." What was the 
one dark blot on their friend's fame they heartily endeav- 
ored to establish as a grand achievement entitling him to the 
glory which they claimed Colon had appropriated to him- 
self. To accomplish this, they indulged in what modern 
lawyers would consider some very adventurous swearing, and 
among other things sought to make capital out of the change 
made by the Admiral in the name of this river. The altera- 
tion, they claimed, was an act of pure spitefulness and mal- 
ice, meant to deprive their kinsman of the credit to which 
he was entitled. As they swore, however, at the same time 
that Martin Alonzo had been the first to discover Hispani- 
ola ; that he had immediately sent a letter and chart to the 
Admiral in Cuba advising his leader of the discovery, as a 
loyal officer should ; and that he urged his commander from 
whom he had parted by agreement, to hasten and rejoin the 
*' Pinta " in a country so abounding in treasure, — we need not 
pay much heed to the Pinzon side of the case. So long as 
he faithfully followed his Admiral and gave him frankly his 
counsel and assistance, Martin Alonzo was entitled to a gen- 
erous share of the glory of the whole stupendous success, 
for both his knowledge and influence had been invaluable 
to Colon. But when he abandoned his companions and 
started off to acquire riches and reputation at his leader's 
expense, the captain of the " Pinta " became that most con- 
temptible of men, — an envy-eaten and treacherous subordi- 
nate, ready to betray his principal and sacrifice his own 
honor so long as his greed was satiated and his vanity grati- 
fied. His folly cost him his life, and he is entitled to his 



THE RETURN OF THE " PINTA." 263 

part of that charity which is the one virtue practised by the 
writers of obituaries. In those stirring days in Palos, en- 
Hsting men and equipping ships for the great voyage, and on 
the trackless western ocean encouraging his crew and up- 
holding the authority of his commander, Martin Alonzo made 
a name which must ever be remembered with honor, so long 
as the New World has a history. Pity that his end could 
not be like that of his younger brother, Vicente Yanez, 
whose less overweening ambition yet sufficed to place him 
in the front rank of the world's boldest and most fortunate 
seamen, the discoverer of the mighty Amazon and the vast 
territory we call Brazil ! 




^ 


i 


^ 


s 


s 



XXI. 

NORTHEAST BY EAST, FOR SPAIN AND 
IMMORTALITY. 

LEAVING the Rio de Gracia at midnight on the loth 
of January, the Admiral pursued his easterly course 
for two days without coming to anchor, on account of the 
dangerous nature of the ground alongshore. With a lively 
breeze and a strong current both in its favor, the little 
squadron rapidly ran down the coast, and by the afternoon 
of the 1 2 th was abreast of a tall headland which was appar- 
ently the Umit of land in that direction. On doubling this, 
a great bay appeared, setting far back into the island ; and 
beyond it the coast trended to the south and southwest, as 
in the case of Cuba. Judging by this analogy, the Admiral 
argued that he had reached the confines of Hispaniola, and 
was, he confesses, " frightened "as he reflected upon its 
probable extent. He anchored within this great bay, which 
we know as Samana, and sent a boat on shore in charge of 
Pedro Alonzo Niiio to hold communication with the natives, 
if possible, and secure a stock of peppers for the long sea- 
voyage before them. The Indians hid themselves at the 
approach of the Spaniards, and Pilot Pedro Niiio had to 
return empty-handed. On the next day the Admiral would 
have weighed anchor and gone in search of a better anchor- 
age, for his present one was too much exposed to be to his 
liking ; but a strong sea-breeze detained the vessels, as an 
off-shore wind was needed to let them escape from port. 
He sent a boat again on shore, and this time the natives re- 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 265 

ceived the strangers at the water's edge. Unhke any of the 
tribes heretofore encountered, these savages were armed 
with bows and arrows, and carried long two-edged war-clubs 
of heavy wood. They were totally naked, had their faces 
blackened with charcoal, and wore their hair, which was dec- 
orated with feathers, in long locks down their backs. Alto- 
gether they were ugly and repulsive-looking, and wholly 
dissimilar from the more western races. The boat's crew 
offered them beads and trinkets in exchange for some of their 
weapons, and induced one of the men to go back with them 
on board the " Niiia," so that the Admiral might converse 
with him. From the appearance of this individual and the 
description of the rest, Colon supposed them to be the 
much talked of Canibals of the Cubans, or the Caribes, as 
the natives of Hispaniola called them ; but on inquiring of 
the Indian before him, the latter shook his head and pointed 
still to the east, in the direction of a shadowy looming of 
land which the Spaniards had remarked as they rounded the 
cape on the previous afternoon. The interpreters had hard 
work to understand the language spoken by this savage, as 
it differed materially both from their own dialect and that of 
Guacanagari's people, — a difference which Colon attributes 
to the distance separating the various tribes and islands. 
After repeated efforts, they informed the Admiral that the 
Indian said that the Caribes lived on an island not far to 
the east of Hispaniola, where there was so much gold 
that it was found in pieces as large as the ship. This for- 
tunate country was called Giiaiiin. In the same quarter 
was another island called Mantinino, which was inhabited 
wholly by women.^ The Caribes ranged among all the 
neighboring islands, carrying off captives to fatten and de- 
vour, and the savages of Samana had to fight them con- 
stantly. From the contrast between the natives at this end 
of Hispaniola and the handsome and pacific tribes to the 
west. Colon concluded that the fierce appearance and war- 

1 Giianin was the native name for a base alloy of gold, containing 
much copper. 

■- Mantinino is supposed to have been Puerto Rico. 



266 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

like instincts of the former were probably due to some inter- 
mixture with the ferocious Caribes themselves. As he could 
extract no further information from his visitor, he gave him 
his fill of biscuit and honey, and sent him back with a num- 
ber of presents to his companions, telling him to ask them 
to bring whatever gold they had to the ships for barter. 
When the sailors took this Indian to the beach, he called 
out to his fellow-tribesmen that the strangers were friends ; 
so that, laying down their weapons, they fearlessly approached 
the Spaniards. The latter again tendered beads and pieces 
of scarlet cloth in exchange for bows and arrows, as the Ad- 
miral desired to obtain a number of these savage arms ; but 
for some cause the Indians became alarmed, and rushing 
for their discarded weapons, presented a startling front to 
the astonished sailors. Fitting their arrows to the bows, and 
flourishing cords as a token that they intended to bind the 
white men and carry them away, they shouted their uncouth 
cries and appeared to be on the point of making a general 
attack. This was too much for the Spaniards to bear. Al- 
though but seven in number, they leaped out of the boat 
and cheerily rushed into the midst of the savage mob. One 
of the sailors who bore a cross-bow, drove a bolt full into an 
Indian's breast ; another, with his sword, hamstrung a na- 
tive as he turned to fly ; in a moment more the terrified 
heathen would have been massacred in the approved Cas- 
tilian fashion, had not Pilot Pedro, who had the command, 
ordered his men to desist and return to the boat. When 
the skirmish was reported to the Admiral, he was inclined to 
feel keenly regretful. It was the first blood shed in anger 
in the new world he had discovered, and it was an unhappy 
close to the long series of kindnesses and generous hospital- 
ity which he had elsewhere encountered. On second 
thought, he reflected that since no greater harm had re- 
sulted, it might be for the best. These savages, who were 
plainly of a more fearless and quarrelsome disposition than 
any he had as yet met, had learned something of the power 
of the white men ; and if the colonists of Navidad should 
reach this shore on the coasting journeys which he had or- 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 267 

dered them to make, the natives of Samana would hold them 
in wholesome dread, and not lightly attempt to do them 
violence. The argument, no doubt, was good. What the 
two mutilated Indians on shore would have said to it we 
should like to know. Probably they were disposed of in the 
thrifty Caribe manner by their relatives, and their views were 
not considered of moment. It is with almost a sensation of 
relief that we find some aborigines who did not hold any 
theory as to the celestial origin of the Europeans. It spoke 
well for their courage and saved them a bitter disillusion. 

These people acted as though fighting Spaniards were an 
ordinary pastime. The next morning they flocked in num- 
bers to the beach, making gestures that the strangers should 
come again on land. When the Admiral despatched a boat 
toward them, the Indian who had already visited the 
"Niiia" came forward accompanied by another, who, he 
explained to the interpreters, was the cacique of that coun- 
try. This chief offered to the men in the boat, through the 
Indian who had done the talking, some strings of rude beads 
in token that he came in peace ; and on understanding this 
the Spaniards took him and three of his followers into the 
boat and rowed off to the " Nina," as this was what he 
seemed to want. Here he was hospitably entertained by 
the Admiral, and received a quantity of presents ; so that on 
leaving the ship, he promised to return on the following day 
and bring his host a golden mask as a pledge of friendship. 
When the next day came it brought no cacique, although he 
sent to the Admiral a coronet made of beaten gold as a 
substitute for the mask, with a message excusing his non- 
appearance, on the ground of the distance he had to travel 
from his town to the ships. The Indians flocked down in 
numbers to the beach on seeing the boat arrive which had 
been despatched for the expected cacique, and showed no 
further opposition to exchanging their weapons and other 
scanty possessions for the trinkets of the Spaniards. Four 
young natives asked to be taken aboard the caravel ; and 
they showed themselves to be so intelligent and communi- 
cative that the Admiral induced them to remain with him 



268 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

as guides to the islands of the Caribes, which he had re- 
solved to visit, since they seemed to lie directly in his home- 
ward course. From these men he learned that there was 
not much gold in this eastern end of Hispaniola. His in- 
formants pointed to the west as its source ; and hence he 
inferred that the mountainous region which he had passed, 
lying between the territory of Guacanagari and that of this 
warrior tribe, must be the country of the mines. What 
seems to have interested him most at this landing was the 
superior character of the arms borne by the savages. " These 
people have no fear," he says, "and are not like the other 
tribes, who are cowards and have no weapons, in a senseless 
fashion." The bows of this tribe, he remarks, were as 
long as those of the English and French archers, and were, 
he thought, made of a species of yew. The arrows were 
often two yards in length, made of light reeds with heads of 
a hard wood, a foot or eighteen inches long, tipped with a 
fish-tooth. " The most of them are touched with some kind 
of herb," he adds. The method of drawing these bows was 
different from any he had seen in his military experience, 
and altogether he speaks of them as formidable weapons. 
From the description, they would seem to be identical with 
the arms still used by tribes of the southern continent, and 
the " herbs " were doubtless the poisonous composition in 
which the arrows are often dipped. As for the prospects of 
future commerce with this part of Hispaniola, he records 
that although there were indications of copper and gold, the 
main product of value would be the aji, or red pepper, 
which the natives employed largely in all their dishes. " This 
is much better than pepper," he writes ; " nobody eats any- 
thing without it, and it is very wholesome. It would be 
easy to load fifty ships a year with it in this island." 

Navigation in Colon's time was the art of carrying on 
trade by sea with the grace of the keenest blade and surest 
aim ; but he was one of the few who knew it to be capable 
of higher uses. One of the reasons he gives for accepting 
his detention in the bay of Samana so patiently, allows us 
an insight into that scholarly side of his character which is 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 269 

too generally overlooked in forming a conception of the 
man. He was expecting, he says, on the 1 7th of January, 
" the conjunction of the moon with the sun, and wished to 
observe how this would result." Besides, there should occur 
at this season, according to his tables, " the opposition of 
the moon to Jupiter, and her conjunction with Mercury, and 
the sun's opposition to Jupiter ; " and all this led him to be 
prudent, " for it is the cause of great gales." How much of 
this astrological forecast may be correct, we do not pretend 
to say. Las Casas, in editing Colon's diary, observes that 
" these planets do not appear to be correctly collocated, 
through the fault of the scribe who copied the diary." 
Whatever may be the proper expression of the phenomena, 
it is characteristic of the great sailor that he should be an- 
ticipating their advent with so lively an interest, and should 
be anxious to observe them in as favorable a spot as pos- 
sible. Unfortunately, his editor has not preserved Colon's 
subsequent entries concerning this first astronomical obser- 
vation in our waters. 

Before the eclipse and its attendant conjunctions were 
due, the Admiral was compelled to leave the bay. Both of 
the ships had been taking in water freely for a long time 
through their opening seams ; but now they began to admit 
it in such quantity along the run of their keels that he 
realized that it would be dangerous to loiter any longer on 
the voyage. On the night of the 15 th a fresh breeze sprang 
up which would carry him out of the bay ; and, fearful of 
becoming wind-bound for an indefinite time, he directed the 
vessels to get under weigh and stand out to sea. He steered 
his course a little north of east ; for in that quarter lay the 
islands of the Caribes, according to his savage guides, and 
since it would not take him far out of his homeward track,- 
he was disposed to visit the famous people whose canoes 
roved at will through these peaceful seas and imparted such 
terror that their very names choked his earlier interpreters. 
After sailing some sixteen leagues in this direction his Indian 
pilots suddenly changed their minds and pointed to the 
southeast as the course to be followed. The Admiral, al- 



2/0 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

though reluctantly, gave orders to steer as they indicated ; 
for if the distance was not too great, he would rather make 
the deviation than not explore the islands of which he had 
heard so much, and where he hoped to find at last the sub- 
jects of the Great Khan. The ships held on their way for 
a few miles, in a direction which would soon have brought 
them within sight of the blue mountains of Porto Rico, 
when the wind shifted and came out fresh from the quarter 
that was fairest for their homeward voyage. 

So long as they had hugged the northern coast of Hayti 
they had known and cared nothing about the winds which 
were blowing out on the open ocean. Now that they had 
left land behind them and were sailing once more at large, 
the sailors were quick to recognize that the first steady 
wind they encountered would give them a free run home. 
How many weeks was it that the breeze blew them ever 
westward on the outward voyage? It all seemed so long 
ago that it was well-nigh forgotten, with the stupid fears 
of which the merest boy was now so heartily ashamed. 
But whether three or four, it was an east wind for one 
week after another, and as it had blown before so it might 
blow again, and when, then, should they see Spain? At 
first these remarks were confined to themselves, — merely 
Jack Tar's "wondering" why his commander did not act 
in a manner to suit his crew's ideas. Soon the pilots 
caught the burden of the seamen's lament and bore it, 
couched in duly respectful representations, to the Admiral. 
The ships were leaking fast ; the stock of provisions scanty ; 
the men's hearts sinking with longing to be on the other 
side of the mighty ocean which stretched so far ahead ; the 
winds had proved uncertain among the islands, and the 
one prevailing was fresh and steady for the shores of Spain. 
<' By the favor of your Excellency," this, and " Under the 
Sefior Admiral's honored pleasure," that ; but it was plain 
that reasons were plentiful and good for postponing to 
another time the visit to the Caribes. Colon needed no 
urging to convince him of the wisdom of these arguments. 
Had he been able, he would have liked to see the ferocious 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 27 1 

creatures who devoured their fellow-men, and carry a few 
with him to exhibit to his royal patrons ; but it was not a 
matter of much import. More than any other he was im- 
patient to set foot again on Spanish soil, and he would run 
no risk of losing so fair an opportunity of making a rapid 
voyage. To the joy of pilots and men, after scant reflec- 
tion, he ordered the ship about and laid her head north- 
east by east, — the quarter where lay the distant coast of 
Andalusia. 

The Admiral fully shared the apprehensions of his crews 
regarding the perilous condition of the two caravels ; prob- 
ably from his more intimate knowledge of the vessels' weak- 
ness, his anxiety was greater than theirs. Those leaks along 
the keel particularly disturbed him, for they were well-nigh 
inaccessible, and in his diary he reverts with bitterness to 
the malice of the Palos calkers who had so recklessly 
imperilled the safety of his people. He adds with quiet 
confidence : — 

" But notwithstanding the quantity of water which the ships 
are making, I have faith that our Lord who brought me here 
will, in His mercy and loving-kindness, watch over my return ; 
for His High Majesty well knows the toil I suffered before I 
could get away from Castile, and that no one was on my side 
except Him only, because He alone could read my heart; and, 
next to Him, none but your Majesties, for all others were op- 
posed to me without any cause whatever. To these latter is 
the blame due that the royal crown of your Higlinesses has not 
had a hundred millions of revenue more than all it has enjoyed 
since I came to serve your Majesties, — which will be seven 
years on the 20th day of this very month of January, — besides 
all that shall be received in the future. But the same Almighty 
God will not fail to set all straight." 

With such lofty courage and sublime faith did this great 
man face the long and dangerous voyage which had now 
begun, as he had the still more daring one which had con- 
fronted him on leaving Palos. The day wore on ; the wind 
held good ; by sunset the last dim trace of Hispaniola had 
sunk below the horizon. Behind him lay the " golden In- 
dies ; " before him was Spain and a deathless fame. The 



272 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

next land he sighted was within the confines of the older 
world. 

Colon had spent three months and five days in cruising 
among the new lands he had discovered ; barely one half 
the time that he had intended, as we have seen. Following 
the coast of Cuba for nearly four hundred miles east and 
west, he had in turn believed that it was the island of Japan, 
then the eastern provinces of Asia, and finally a great un- 
known island off the Asiatic shores. The immense extent 
of Hispaniola tended to restore his conviction that Cuba 
was part of the mainland ; but as the natives of the former 
always referred to Cuba as likewise an island, he continued 
to refer to it as such until his second voyage. At that time 
he skirted its southern shores, as now he had its northern, 
for several hundred miles in one direction ; and this restored 
him to his original belief that no mere island could have 
such gigantic proportions, and that it was the continent 
itself. In this faith he continued until his death, and his 
contemporaries still longer ; for it was not until later years 
that men questioned his having discovered the veritable 
Indies exfra Ganges.^ His three subsequent voyages — the 
second to the Caribbee Islands, Cuba and Jamaica ; the third 
to the coast of Guiana and Venezuela ; and the fourth to 
Yucatan and Central America — only strengthened this belief. 
The character of the natives, the products of the whole zone, 
the conditions of climate, and the strange coincidence by 
which the mistaken distances of the ancient maps made the 
Asiatic continent and its adjacent archipelagoes fall in the 
longitude of the Gulf of Mexico, all supported his theory. 
It is true that Colon did not find, either on this voyage or 
later, the vast cities and countless population celebrated by 
Marco Polo and Mandeville ; but he heard (or fancied he 
did) the names of the Great Khan and Cipango, of Quimsay 
and Cathay, repeated on all sides, and hence was led, natu- 
rally enough, to expect to reach at any moment the civilized 
portion of the Indies. In the tales of cannibals with dogs' 
heads, of islands inhabited by Amazons, of others formed of 

^ And then it was fio( Anierico Vespucci who opened their eyes. 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 2/3 

solid gold, and the like, he was but unconsciously fitting to 
the vague descriptions of the Indians the ideas already 
gathered from the veracious tales of the Venetian merchant 
and the English knight. He followed no lead blindly ; for 
when he failed to find Cipango and Babeque in the places 
assigned to them by the natives, he frankly attributed it to 
his own want of comprehension, and tried in another direc- 
tion. But nothing ever shook his belief that these were the 
very Indies which he had found ; and when, after ten years 
of unsuccessful effort to reach the borders of the true 
Cathay, he undertook that last terrible voyage whose hard- 
ships led directly to his death, it was to search for a strait 
connecting the western ocean with the middle seas of India. 
Now, as he was hourly carried farther and farther away 
from the glorious region he had visited, his mind was at rest 
concerning the fruits of his undertaking. He had noticed 
that the Indians navigated fearlessly from island to island, 
even when these lay out of sight of one another, and that 
they knew the situation of other lands ten and even twenty 
days' journey away. This sustained him in arguing in his 
own mind that if the wealthy cities and provinces which he 
had come to seek had not been actually reached on this 
first attempt, it was merely a question of ampler time and 
more adequate equipment when they should also be discov- 
ered. The road was opened ; it would not be long before 
the world knew whither it led. It is not singular that his 
opinions as to his whereabouts and the exact relations of 
his surroundings to Asia and to one another should fluc- 
tuate. The two islands he had skirted so vastly exceeded 
in extent any known to the navigators of those days, that, 
until they had been circled, it was impossible to avoid a 
doubt as to their insular character. Colon's instruments of 
observation, at best defective, became in time deranged and 
well-nigh wholly useless. When he applied to his pilots, 
skilful seamen as they were in the opinion of their times, 
he received as many different solutions as there were voices. 
Moreover, an intuitive distrust, which his subsequent expe- 
rience amply justified, withheld him from taking his asso- 

i8 



274 ^ITH THE. ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

ciates unresei-vedly into his confidence. The Indies had 
been found by him, at the direct instigation and under the 
individual protection of the Ahnighty. He was under a 
sacred and ever present vow as to the disposition to be 
made of the fruits of this discovery and the methods by 
which its future was to be regulated. " I protested to your 
Highnesses," he wrote in his diary on the day after the 
wreck of the flagship, " that all the revenues from this my 
enterprise should be spent upon the conquest of Jerusalem ; 
and your Majesties laughed and said that you were willing 
and had the desire to do that even without my aid." The 
people of the new countries, as we know from his own 
words, were to be evangelized and converted to the true 
faith. Such as refused the Gospel and continued in their 
darkness were to be sent to Europe and sold as slaves. 
None but " tnie Christians" were to be allowed in these 
fortunate regions, even for the ordinary pursuits of com- 
merce, and all intruders were to be repelled at the cannon's 
mouth. The natives of the new-found Indies were to be, 
in this world, subjects of the Spanish Crown ; and hence 
they were to go direct to the Christians' heaven, there to 
partake of the joys of the faithful. With such beliefs and 
projects stirring in his mind, Colon never revealed to his 
companions the full result of his observation and reflec- 
tions. He guarded these for the knowledge of his sov- 
ereigns alone. 

One strange instance of the perplexity which often assailed 
the Admiral as to where he really was on the broad face of 
the earth, occurred just as he was sailing out of Samana Bay. 
At this eastern end of Hispaniola he had found quantities 
of the same kind of seaweed which had attracted his notice 
on the outward passage and been heralded by his pilots and 
himself as a sure sign of neighboring land. Observing now 
closely this marine herbage he saw that it grew on the rocks 
and reefs at little depth below the water's surface, and 
thence concluded that what he had seen before must have 
been equally near some coast. As his log-book showed that 
he had first passed through this weed when only four hun- 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 275 

dred leagues west of the Canaries, the inference to his mind 
was obvious that some of the islands of the Indies must 
extend to within that distance of the Canary group. The 
first one he had encountered, Guanahanf, was, indeed, nearly 
three times that far from Ferro ; but this he explained by 
supposing that he had passed too much to the north or the 
south of the most easterly of the Indies. On his subsequent 
voyages, he hoped, he would meet with them when journey- 
ing west. Needless to say that he never found them, and 
that the sea-weed he had first sighted was only one of the 
detached fields of floating Saragossa which encumber the 
Atlantic along the parallels he sailed. But the little incident, 
unimportant in itself, gives us a vivid idea of the groping 
and uncertain way in which even the great explorer, with 
all his keen sagacity and undaunted courage, was feeling 
about in the vast expanse which lay beyond the limits of 
the then known world. 

For an entire week the two ships kept on their north- 
eastern course, favored by a smooth sea and fair winds. 
As they proceeded, the air grew cooler and the nights longer ; 
and this the Admiral conceived was due to the fact that the 
earth grew narrower in that direction. On the 23d the 
breeze became variable and often baffling ; so that the "Nina" 
was called upon to shorten sail on account of her consort's 
inability to sail close to the wind. The " Pinta " was origi- 
nally the better sailer ; but in her six weeks' solitary cruising 
she had sprung her mizzen-mast, and was now unable to use 
those sails. This renewal of anxiety on Martin Alonzo's ac- 
count was evidently hard to bear. To the Admiral every 
day's delay meant fresh danger and increased risk of never 
seeing Spain again. " Had her commander," he writes, in 
commenting upon the detention to which he was again ex- 
posed by the " Pinta," " taken as much pains to provide 
himself with a new mast in the Indies, where there are so 
many and such excellent ones, as he did to separate from 
me in the hope of filling his ship with gold, he would have 
had everything in good condition." Happily the sea con- 
tinued calm ; and the Admiral does not fail to return thanks 



2/6 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

for this renewed mark of Divine protection. On the 25 th 
the sailors succeeded in catching some large fish and a shark 
of enormous proportions ; and this also was a cause of re- 
joicing with their leader, — " for we had brought with us from 
the Indies only wine and bread and peppers for food," he 
states. That the squadron should have been so ill supplied 
with provisions for the long voyage back to Spain can only 
be accounted for on the supposition that the Admiral had 
left with the garrison at Navidad whatever stores of dried 
flesh he had, finding that the island of Hispaniola produced 
no animals from which meat could be obtained in sufficient 
quantities. 

The winds were now more often adverse to the progress 
of the vessels than favorable ; and their course varied from 
one day to another all the way from due north to southeast. 
They saw constantly the same sorts of birds, both large and 
small, which had been greeted as harbingers of land four 
months before ; but now the sailors drew no hopeful auguries 
from their presence. Whatever land was nearest must lie 
far in the west ; and their faces were set this time toward 
the rising, not the setting, sun. On the 3d of February 
they had come so far to the north that the Admiral records 
that the polar star seemed to be at the same elevation as at 
Cape St. Vincent in Portugal ; but owing to the unsteadiness 
of his little ship he was unable to take a correct observation 
with his rude astrolabe and quadrant. If his estimate was 
exact, he must have been about in the latitude of Cape 
Hatteras, and a matter of one third across the Atlantic. 
The wind here changed for the better, and the vessels were 
able to hold steadily on their easterly course for the space 
of ten days, making eight or nine miles an hour day and 
night. The variations in their direction and the want of 
reliable observations had by this time destroyed the value of 
any computations as to their precise whereabouts ; the 
squadron was driving whither the wind compelled, all hands 
contented in that their advance was mainly toward the east. 
The sea was covered with a kind of weed which the Admiral 
had seen in the Azores, differing widely from that which 



FOR SPAIN AND IMMORTALITY. 277 

grew near the Indies ; but he judged by the coolness of the 
air that he was not yet near the Portuguese islands. On 
the 6th and 7th the pilots compared notes, with as wide a 
variance in results as that of the traditional physicians. 
Vicente Yaiiez claimed that they were to the south of Flores, 
the westernmost of the Azores, with the island of Madeira 
due east of their bows. Roldan thought they were almost 
past the easternmost of the Azores, and were heading straight 
for Porto Santo. Pedro Alonzo Niilo was for insisting that 
they were passing between the islands of the Portuguese 
group, although no land was visible. By the loth they had 
made four hundred miles farther easting, with a considerable 
reach to the southward ; and as no signs of land appeared, 
the pilots began to be anxious. The ships were leaking 
like sieves, the provisions were growing scarce, firewood and 
water alike were at a low point, and it was plain to the 
crews that the pilots did not know where they were. Another 
consultation was held in the Admiral's cabin. He and all 
the hard-headed and stout-hearted navigators who were 
with him had each drawn, according to their respective 
lights, their own charts of this extraordinary voyage. 
Whether one man could understand another's map is 
more than doubtful ; but in those days what men did 
not understand they undertook on the strength of an un- 
flinching courage and a muttered Paternoster. Vicente 
Yanez and the three pilots Roldan, Sancho Ruiz, and Pedro 
Alonzo were now unanimous in placing the ships well to the 
east of the Azores and in the near vicinity of Madeira. 
There was much hot disputation and jotting down of crabbed 
figures to sustain their several contentions ; but the Admiral 
differed from them all. 

" Against so many and such able navigators, 't is ill con- 
tending with a single voice, good masters," he said, after 
hearing their opinions ; " but for my part 't is clear that you 
place us a full one hundred and fifty leagues too near Cas- 
tile. Under your correction, I hold that we are only 
now in the longitude of Flores, and that Madeira lies not 
far to the southeast. Were we to keep still eastward, if 



278 IV/TH TIJE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

my judgment does not greatly err, we should reach land 
not far from Naf6, on the coast of Africa. But all this is 
as yet conjecture ; and we shall only know with certainty 
when, by the grace of God, we get a glimpse of some 
shore." 

In his own mind the Admiral was sorely perplexed as to 
where he was, although he believed that his calculation was 
much more nearly correct than that of his companions. 
Not only had he kept a careful and painstaking reckoning of 
each day's run, with allowances for drift and currents, and 
checked this whenever possible by stars and sun, but he 
had maintained a scrupulous watch over the surface of the 
sea as well. Each trifling indication which might serve as 
a hint to fix his knowledge as to what portion of the sea 
they were sailing was noted ; and he compared his observa- 
tions with his previous studies of these same waters on 
earlier cruises. His journal told him that on the outward 
voyage he had first seen the western sea-weed at about 
three hundred leagues from Ferro ; he now argued that as 
they had but recently lost the last of that weed, they must 
be approximately in that same latitude, which would be that 
of Flores. As this coincided closely with his computations, 
he had the greater confidence in their exactness, and so 
maintained them against the united opinions of his pilots. 
These latter, however they might differ from him, adopted 
his reckoning without remonstrance, keeping the while a 
sharp look-out for land. In a few hours they were to have 
abundant cause both to praise their leader's sagacity as a 
navigator and be grateful for his skill as a cool and fearless 
seaman. 



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XXII. 

•THERE WERE NO TEMPESTS IN THE INDIES." 

r]^OR six months Colon's tiny ships had been at sea, the 
greater part of the time in untravelled waters, and thus 
far he had been spared the one danger which was most 
reasonably to have been expected. The proverbial terrors 
of the deep had been but words to conjure by ; and even 
the perils of shipwreck had been passed without a timber 
parting or a green wave being shipped. For such an un- 
hoped blessing he had not failed on frequent occasion to 
render thanks where they were due, and to enter in his 
diary his sense of the vast importance to his work of so 
providential an ordering. Now, however, both his faith and 
his fortitude were called upon to bear a strain which was all 
the more bitter because, like Caesar's bark, the little cara- 
vels were freighted with the fortunes of a world. Un- 
known and unlocated, save by those on board, the new 
hemisphere must disappear if disaster should befall the frail 
squadron which bore the mighty tidings. 

On Tuesday, the 12th of February, the sky was overcast, 
and the wind changed to a roaring gale, lashing the sea into 
frothy rage, and from the very outset putting the undecked 
vessels to imminent danger of destruction. As the night 
wore on, the tempest increased until both ships were nm- 
ning before it under bare sticks, their seams yawning, and 
the only doubt as to their otherwise assured fate being 
whether they should founder from the weight of water entering 
them from underneath or overhead. As the Admiral stood 
at his lofty post on the " Niiia's " castle, scanning as far as 



28o WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

might be in the gloom the yeasty confusion through which his 
craft was driving, he saw with still increasing anxiety three 
vivid tongues of forked lightning flash out in quick succes- 
sion from the pitchy blackness toward the northeast. To his 
companions this was only an incident in the furious gale ; 
but to him it was a boding of greater trouble yet in store. 

"Three times it lightened from the selfsame quarter. 
Saw you that, Seiior Vicente?" he asked of the captain, 
who stood at his elbow. " My heart misgives me that from 
there, or its antipodes, we shall have still wilder blasts before 
the morning light." 

"'Twere then a case for Miserere Domine, Senor," 
shouted Vicente Yaiiez, in reply ; " for little more can this 
poor ship endure. I have not seen the ' Pinta's ' light since 
early evening, and I fear her plight is worse than ours, — so 
riddled are her timbers by those voracious worms." 

" God's will be done, good captain 1 " the Admiral re- 
sponded. " He holds us all in the hollow of His hand. 
But I think not that evil has befallen our companion, for I 
saw her lantern astern within the hour." 

When the morning came both of Colon's anticipations 
proved to be well founded. For a brief spell the wind lost 
some of its violence ; and the " Pinta," which had weathered 
the night in safety, rejoined her sister ship. But later in the 
day, with a shriek of warning, a fresh gale fell upon the 
caravels and drove them staggering and helpless through 
the thundering seas, now dashing and crossing in blind fury 
as far as the eye could reach. So long as the tormented 
vessels were forced in one direction with the rolling billows 
they had some chance of riding out the storm ; but now 
that the wind had shifted and heaped great walls of angry 
water against the course of the earlier surge, the short, 
round-bottomed tubs were tossed at large in this direction 
and in that, threatened with annihilation by every swelling 
crest that rose skyward alongside their weak hulls. All the 
night of the 13th this merciless plunging continued. To 
lift his ship a little out of the crazy dance of the cross-seas, 
the Admiral ordered a corner of the mainsail to be raised, 



" A'O TEMPESTS IN THE INDIES:' 28 1 

— a measure which steadied her somewhat, though at im- 
minent risk of carrying the mast overboard at each fresh 
blast. A httle additional reUef was had by fiUing all the 
empty wine and water casks with salt water, to serve as bal- 
last. The Admiral had not ballasted the ships in Hispaniola, 
intending to do this at the Caribes' island, where he had 
expected to touch on leaving Samana. As their stock of 
liquids was exhausted, the vessels grew lighter until, had it 
not been for the preservation of the empty casks, they might 
have been swamped a dozen times in the course of these 
terrible days. 

Daylight broke on the 14th over so wild and frenzied a 
whirl of angry sea and hopeless sky, that the bravest seamen 
gave themselves up for lost, and crouched sullenly in the lee 
of the bulwarks, waiting the end in stolid impotence. With 
anxious hearts the Admiral and Vicente Yaiiez had tried to 
pierce the driving mist of spray and rain, to catch some sign 
of the " Pinta ; " but nothing met their eyes but flying scud 
and combing crests. During the night the "Nina" had 
been driven several miles away from her consort ; but for 
many hours an answering flash had come from Martin 
Alonzo's vessel as the Admiral burned his flares to signal 
his own safety and inquire for that of his companion ship. 
Even when the latter ceased to respond, he had not thought 
the worst, for the night was thick and both craft were plung- 
ing wildly, so that distance and the mountainous waves 
might account for his failure to see the answering gleams of 
the feeble torches. But when the full light of day showed 
no sign of the " Pinta," he gave her up for lost, mindful of 
her leaky condition and the weakness of her masts. As the 
word passed among the sailors that the other ship was gone, 
they merely shook their heads and muttered a short prayer 
for their comrades' souls. To them it was only a question 
of a few hours, more or less, when they too should meet a 
like evil fate. The Admiral himself abandoned all hope of 
seeing another night unless by a miracle of the Almighty ; 
but in his deep extremity he called upon Him with constant 
prayer and unshaken trust. 



282 WJTH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

As became a good son of the Church of Rome, he also 
invoked, after the manner of his times, the intervention 
of those saints whose aid was Ukely to prove most effica- 
cious. Sending for a handful of flat beans, he counted 
out as many as there were souls on board, and marking a 
single one with a cross, shook them thoroughly in a sea- 
man's cap, and called upon the crew in the order of their 
rank to draw one. He upon whom the lot fell was to 
vow that if the ship were only spared, he would make a 
pilgrimage to the famous shrine of the Virgin of Guada- 
loupe, bearing as an offering a weighty candle of pure 
white wax. His being the first turn, the Admiral solemnly 
thrust his hand into the cap and drew out a bean from the 
sixty or more therein contained. It bore the cross. Rev- 
erently making the same sign, he confirmed his vow and 
called upon his companions to invoke each the aid of his 
own patron saint in this hour of desperate need. It was 
suggested that a pilgrimage should also be vowed to the 
shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, whose miracle-working 
powers were famous throughout the South of Europe. The 
lots were again drawn, and this time the marked bean fell 
to one of the sailors, — Pedro de Villa, from the town of 
Santa Maria, near Palos. As the journey to Loreto would 
involve considerable expense, the Admiral promised to de- 
fray the costs if they reached land in safety. Some of the 
seamen whose piety was of a more local type, now asked 
that a. pilgrimage be vowed to Santa Clara of Moguer, a 
church much sought by the mariners of Andalusia when set- 
ting out on voyages. Whoever should draw this lot, it was 
established, was to watch a whole night at the altar of that 
church, and have a Mass of thanksgiving celebrated as well. 
Once more the cap was shaken, and a second time the cross 
lay in the Admiral's hand. This repetition of his former 
fortune served greatly to animate and console Colon. He 
pointed out to his awestruck men that since he had been 
chosen by Providence to make two pilgrimages, it must be 
because he was to be saved ; and if he, their leader, was to 
escape, it was clear that they must also. As a final token of 



"NO TEMPESTS IN THE INDIES." 283 

devotion and humility, he now registered a vow, in which he 
was joined by the whole ship's company, that wherever they 
all or any of them should first set foot on shore, there 
would they march in pious procession, dressed only in their 
shirts and bearing lighted tapers, to the nearest church, and 
solemnly render up thanks for their miraculous preservation. 
Somewhat soothed by these devout exercises, Colon set 
about a measure of a more worldly nature, but one not the less 
near to his heart on that account. If his vows and petitions 
should not prove acceptable to the Almighty, he was dis- 
tressed to think that the glorious outcome of his long life of 
struggle and contention would be lost to the world at large, 
and his royal patrons in particular. Withdrawing, therefore, 
to his cabin, he wrote down on a sheet of parchment, as best 
he could in the desperate circumstances of the moment, a 
plain and succinct relation of his voyage from the Canaries 
to San Salvador, his discoveries in the Indies, the inci- 
dents of the return voyage, and the perils by which his ship 
was at that hour surrounded. Rolling this up, he endorsed 
on it a request that whoever should find it should forward it 
to their Majesties of Spain, for which service he promised a 
reward of one thousand ducats. The parchment was wrapped 
securely in a piece of waxed cloth, and the parcel enclosed 
in a tightly bound cask which he caused to be heaved over- 
board. To no one did he communicate his action, lest they 
should lose heart still more at his apparent want of hope ; 
and those men who saw the cask thrown over the vessel's 
side, supposed that it contained the effigy of some saint or 
other pious token consigned to the waves, as was not infre- 
quently done on occasions of dire distress at sea. In the 
entry calmly made in his diary after completing this act, we 
can read the soul of the man as though it were mapped and 
charted before our eyes in copperplate. Without, the gale 
raged with unabated fury, and at almost every word Colon 
must have had to suspend his writing, as the ship lurched 
here or plunged there in the whirling caldron of waters. 
As he wrote down the record of his stupendous achievement, 
and reflected on the countless obstacles and dangers he had 



284 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

already been permitted to surmount, his hopes ran high that 
the present extremity also would pass away, and his work be 
spared for the benefit of mankind. He wrote : — 

"Mayhap the fervent desire which I have to bear this marvel- 
lous news, and to show that what I maintained and offered to 
discover has proved to be exact, has led me to feel this great 
fear lest I should not be spared ; so that at present every mos- 
quito has it in its power to disturb and vex me. Surely this is 
due only to my own weak faith and want of confidence in Divine 
Providence ! The thought of the many mercies which God has 
shown me in permitting me to achieve so great a victory, not- 
withstanding the many adversities and embarrassments which I 
suffered before leaving Spain, should sustain me in this hour. 
To His hands I committed my undertaking, and to His guidance 
I left it all ; and He has heard my prayers and granted all I 
asked. Why should I doubt, then, that He will complete what 
has been commenced, and bring us all to safety? On the out- 
ward voyage I had far greater cause for fear in the trials which 
I had to endure with the seamen and others with me, all of 
whom determined with one voice to turn back, and arrayed 
themselves against me with many threats. Yet the Eternal God 
not only gave me courage and strength to overcome at that time, 
but afterward showed to me and through me many other mar- 
vels, besides saving me from the evil designs of certain of my 
own household. With these instances of His mercy, I can have 
no cause for dread in this present tempest. It is my own weak- 
ness and lack of faith which will not allow my mind to be calm. 
My heart also fails me when I think of my two boys, who will 
be left without father or mother in a strange land if aught be- 
falls me; and I grieve to think that my sovereigns should not 
know of the services I have rendered them by this voyage, and 
that God has given their Majesties the victory in all they desired 
from this enterprise. I would also that their Highnesses should 
know that there were no tempests in the Indies, as may be 
clearly seen from the grasses and trees which grow down to the 
water's edge." 

It was for all these reasons, he concludes, that he had pre- 
pared the story of his expedition, and committed it to the 
waves. 

But what a touch of character lies in that last clause ! 
Come what might, he wanted justice to be done to that new 



"NO TEMPESTS IN THE /NB/ES." 285 

world beyond the Ocean Sea, — his world. Despite all the 
baleful prophecies of ignorance and fear with which for 
twenty years he had been surfeited, it was not in the western 
seas that he had been in jeopardy. It was here, near home, 
in the waters claimed by Portugal and Castile. In the In- 
dies were no tempests ! 

As that trying day drew to its close, the wind fell some- 
what, though the sea was as boisterous as ever and the 
" Nina " shipped great quantities of water. After dark the 
sky began to clear, and by midnight the Admiral was able 
to set a small sail and run before the wind. By morning on 
the 15 th, the sea too had abated, and shortly after sunrise 
the welcome cry of " Land ! " came from the lookout in the 
bows. So confused had the pilots become by the erratic 
course taken by their ship as the gale drove them hither 
and thither over the face of the ocean, that they did not 
agree within a thousand miles as to what the land, now show- 
ing plainly in the southeast, should be. Some held that it 
was the island of Madeira, while others were as confident that 
it was the Rock of Cintra, at the mouth of the Tagus ; 
and a third group insisted that they were in sight of the 
coast of Spain itself. The Admiral, however, had followed 
the wanderings of his vessel with a narrow attention, and 
was of the opinion that they had before them one of the 
Azores. The pilots, he contended, allowed too easterly a 
position in their surmises. It was evidently an island they 
discovered on drawing nearer ; but the strong head wind and 
sea prevented them from approaching it. In the afternoon 
they descried another island, just before darkness fell upon 
them and hid both from their sight. 

As the " Nina" was beating about in her effort to fetch 
the coast first seen, Colon again sat quietly in his cabin, 
completing the letter which he had been writing on the 
homeward passage to his friend Don Luiz de Santangel, the 
Treasurer of their Majesties for the Kingdom of Aragon. 
To this courtier's courageous intervention, as we have seen, 
he owed the change of Queen Isabella's purpose after she 
had declined to accede to his demands in the camp before 



286 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Granada ; and to him the Admiral felt was due a personal 
account of the results of the enterprise to whose success 
he had so largely contributed.'' With the prospect before 
him of so soon being once more in port, Colon closed his 
letter in a strain of gladness which forms a striking contrast 
to the phrases of the previous day. He wrote : — 

" All Christendom should rejoice and make great festival be- 
cause Our Redeemer has given this victory to our illustrious 
King and Queen, and to their mighty Realm ; and to the Holy 
Trinity should solemn thanks be offered, with many prayers, for 
the mighty glory they shall have in the addition of so many peo- 
ples to our Holy Faith. Thanks also are due for the temporal 
blessing in that not only Spain, but all Christian men shall re- 
ceive from this enterprise, and that very soon, so great comfort 
and advantage." 2 

The night of the 15th was passed in cautiously tacking to 
and fro in the vicinity of the two islands ; but when day 
dawned, the " Niiia's " company could discern neither on 
account of a fog which had suddenly shut down. All day 
long they cruised about, on the i6th, searching for the lost 
landfall ; but the only indication they had was that one of 
the sailors saw a light to leeward, as the night was closing 
in. Again they beat about under shortened sail until the 
morning, and for the first time in four days the Admiral 
threw himself on his bed and tried to take some rest. The 
ship was barely making a wake, the sea had subsided into 
the rolling swell which follows a storm, the sky was clear, and 
the breeze light ; so he felt no apprehension. The long ex- 
posure to cold and wet on these fearful days and nights, 
coupled with the impossibility of obtaining food for most of 
the time, had caused his legs to swell to such an extent that 

1 It has been often held that Santangel furnished individually the 
fundi for the voyage ; but that this is an error is shown by the docu- 
ments from which extracts are given in Note F. 

'^ This letter is dated " On board the caravel, off the Canary Isl- 
ands, the 15th of February, 1493." Either this was a slip of the pen, 
or the Admiral at the moment was leaning to the opinion that the 
Canaries were, in truth, at hand. A postscript was added at Lisbon, 
as will appear later on. 



"NO TEMPESTS IN THE INDIES." 287 

they could no longer bear his weight. For the greater part 
of his life he was a sufferer from gout, and in many of the 
later crises in his career we find him assailed by this, the 
most vindictive of his adversaries. Fortunately for him, this 
night passed without incident, and he was allowed to rest in 
peace. When the sun rose on the following morning, — Sun- 
day, the 1 7th, — the land they had lost sight of was distinctly 
visible again to the southeast. Baffling winds obliged them 
to waste the day in fruitless attempts to make the coast, and 
it was evening before they reached it. Even then the haze 
was so thick that no one could assert with confidence what 
land it was, and they crept slowly alongshore looking for a 
harbor. At last they came to anchor in what seemed to be 
a favorable spot, only to have the cable part and be obliged 
to put to sea for another night. By sunrise the caravel had 
made nearly the entire circuit of the island, and reached a 
place which promised better anchorage. Seeing a few houses 
on the beach, the Admiral sent a boat on shore to inquire 
just where they were. The men soon returned with the news 
that it was, in fact, Santa Maria, one of the Azores, and that 
at San Lorenzo, a short distance farther along the shore, a 
good harbor would be found. The inhabitants with whom 
the sailors had spoken, had looked upon it as a miracle when 
they heard that the little vessel had weathered the fearful 
gales of the previous week, and said that among the islands 
the tempest had lasted for a fortnight without intermission. 
If they were amazed at seeing the " Niiia " emerge in safety 
from such an ordeal, their wonder knew no bounds when 
they heard that the same tiny vessel had twice traversed the 
mysterious Western Ocean and visited the Golden Indies on 
the other side of the world. When the boat left them, the 
islanders set off at full speed to carry the astonishing tidings 
to the little government town. 

The Admiral weighed anchor without delay, and made 
for the port of San Lorenzo. The sun had set when he 
reached it and brought his ship again to anchor as near 
the beach as was safe ; but three men were already stand- 
ing on the shore in evident expectation of his arrival. 
Hailing the ship, they said they wished to know the object 



288 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEA.V SEA. 

of her visit ; so Colon sent the boat to shore with one of 
his pilots to make the necessary report. The three men 
invited the Spaniards to accompany them to the town, which 
was some distance away, in order to converse with the gov- 
ernor or captain of the island, Seiior Juan de Castaiieda, 
who represented in Santa Maria the Crown of Portugal. 
This official received the pilot and his companions with 
marked civility, and was profuse in his admiration of the 
extraordinary exploit which he heard they had accom- 
plished. In earlier days, he declared, he had known their 
commander, the honored Seiior Cristoval Colon, very well, 
and had the highest admiration for him as an intrepid and 
sagacious navigator. After offering them such refreshment 
as he had on hand, the governor urged the pilot and two of 
his companions to spend the night with him on shore, pro- 
posing to send back his own messengers with the rest of the 
boat's crew to the " Nina." The invitation was promptly 
accepted. The party returning to the ship were laden with 
a generous supply of chickens, fresh bread, fruits, and other 
eatables likely to be acceptable to men who had been so 
long at sea ; and these were presented to the Admiral by the 
Portuguese messengers with the governor's respectful compli- 
ments. His Excellency would have called in person upon 
his distinguished visitor, they assured the Admiral, had it 
not been for the late hour of the latter's arrival. In the 
early morning, however, he would present his respects and 
bring with him the three Spaniards whom he had detained 
on shore. The governor had only taken the liberty to invite 
these men, the messengers explained, on account of the 
passing delight he anticipated in listening to the recital 
of their astonishing adventures. Meantime his Excellency 
begged the Seiior Colon to accept these poor refreshments 
as an addition to his evening meal, and on the morrow 
whatever the island afforded should be placed at his dis- 
position. The Admiral expressed his appreciation of the 
governor's courtesy, and showed the Portuguese every atten- 
tion in his power, answering freely their inquiries, and 
exhibiting to their admiring vision his Indian interpreters 
and some of the curious articles he had brought from the 



"NO TEMPESTS IN THE INDIES." 289 

lands beyond the sea. The hours passed so rapidly in this 
agreeable intercourse, that when the messengers talked of 
returning on shore it was so late that the Admiral would not 
permit their attempting it, but gave orders that they should 
be lodged as comfortably as possible on board the ship. 

In all this exchange of civilities and compliment there 
was something which caused the Admiral an undefinable 
uneasiness. Delighted as he was to find himself once more 
among the subjects of a friendly Christian power, there 
was a certain hollowness, a want of hearty cordiality, in 
this welcome, which made an unfavorable impression on 
his mind. He had no such vivid recollection of Senor Juan 
de Castafieda as that worthy professed to have of him, and 
he was none too well pleased with the detention of three of 
his crew, on never mind how plausible a pretext. He had 
lived too long among the Portuguese not to know exactly 
what value to attach to their ceremonious protestations, and 
there was a false ring about all this which put him on his 
guard. It was not the greeting to which he had looked for- 
ward when he had thought of once more landing on Chris- 
tian shores. Still, he reflected, Spain and Portugal were 
certainly at peace, and therefore he had no legitimate 
ground for apprehension. The governor might have really 
fancied it was too late to call upon a strange ship, as he 
had alleged, notwithstanding the unusual nature of her mis- 
sion. As for the three sailors, — well, the messengers were 
a fair equivalent, and if it came to a trial of wits his pilot 
would be able to give no information as to the whereabouts 
of the wonderful lands which would be of any use to the 
Portuguese in case they should want to go there. All 
that knowledge the Admiral had locked up in his sea-chest 
or in his breast ; and he felt confident they would gain no 
advantage should they attempt any new trick this present 
time. 

With these considerations he sought his rest, worn out 
with the cares and vigils of the past week, and devoutly 
grateful that at last he was within a measurable distance of 
his sovereign's Court. 

19 



XXIII. 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION. 



\ S the " Nina," on the previous afternoon, had rounded 
Jta. the point of land which formed one side of the har- 
bor, the Admiral had noticed a small chapel, which stood a 
little distance inland on the side toward the sea. No sooner 
had the sun risen on the morning of the 19th than he re- 
minded his men of their vow to go in their shirts in solemn 
procession to the first church they should find, and there 
return thanks for the miraculous escape vouchsafed them. 
Telling off the whole ship's company into two equal parties, 
he directed that the first should visit the chapel at once to 
perform their pious duty. He himself would head the sec- 
ond detachment of thanksgivers ; but for the present he 
would remain on board the vessel in attendance upon the 
governor's anticipated visit. In answer to his inquiries the 
Portuguese messengers informed him that there was no 
priest attached in permanency to the oratory ; but on hear- 
ing of the vow, they volunteered to go to the neighboring 
town and request the parish curate to meet the Spanish pil- 
grims and say the Mass. This offer the Admiral concluded 
to accept, his suspicions as to their good faith having been 
allayed by their friendly conduct while on the ship. The 
first party of the crew accordingly entered the boat, and 
were soon lost to view around the point. A motley sight 
they must have presented as, barefooted and barelegged, 
clad only in their scanty garments, they leaped ashore be- 
fore the little building and marched in line to fulfil their 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION. 29 1 

singular vow ! Their commander meanwhile remained with 
the other half of his men, quietly awaiting the promised ap- 
pearance of Seiior Juan de Castaneda. Hour after hour 
passed without any sign either of his Excellency or the ab- 
sent sailors. Toward noon, becoming anxious, and a little 
suspicious as well, Colon determined to weigh anchor and 
sail around the point to see what was detaining his people. 
He could not imagine that any harm had befallen them on 
land, not only because Castile and Portugal were friends and 
allies, but because of the elaborate and unsolicited tenders 
of assistance which he had received on the previous evening 
from the governor of the island. The worst he feared was 
that the ship's boat might have come to grief on some of 
the rocks which lined the rugged coast ; and the possibility 
of such a disaster sorely troubled him. It did not take 
long to double the point, and on coming within sight of the 
chapel a scene presented itself which roused the Admiral's 
anger to the highest pitch. Around the little edifice was 
gathered a great crowd of the Portuguese residents of the 
island, — some on horseback, but most on foot, and a large 
proportion of them bearing arms. Not a sign of a Spaniard 
was to be seen, although their boat was safely drawn up on 
the sands in a little cove near by. To the Admiral's mind 
it was clear that some treachery had been practised ; but in 
the absence of any means of reaching the shore he could 
only strain his eyes in the vain hope of discovering what 
was passing in the distance. The " Nina " was run in as 
close to the beach as was prudent, the better to observe 
what was going on. As she drew nearer, a squadron of horse- 
men galloped down to the deserted boat, and dismounting, 
shoved her off and rowed out to the " Nina." As they ap- 
proached, the Admiral noticed that they were all well armed, 
and were plainly people in authority. Coming within easy 
hail, they lay on their oars while their leader, rising from 
his seat, hailed Colon, who was standing on the castle con- 
sumed with an overpowering wrath. 

" Seiior Colon," said the Portuguese, " I am your Wor- 
ship's very humble servant, Juan de Castaneda, the un- 



292 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

worthy governor of this island of Santa Maria for his Most 
Serene Majesty King John of Portugal. Have I your Wor- 
ship's warranty that I may come and go in safety upon your 
ship?" 

" Of a surety, worthy Senor Governor," the Admiral an- 
swered, as the hope dawned that the governor might indeed 
come on board and put himself in his power. " The Crowns 
of Portugal and Castile are living in friendly peace, and 
ill would it become an officer of their Catholic Majesties 
to show affront to the captain of one of their ally's 
possessions." 

Upon this some conversation ensued in the boat, which 
the Spaniards could not hear; and then the governor 
said, — 

" I should esteem it a high honor, noble Sefior Colon, if 
your Worship would accept my poor hospitality, and ac- 
company me to my modest cabin with such of your people 
as you may designate. For that purpose have I come out 
to pay my compliments to your Worship with these few 
gentlemen of my household, and we shall grieve if we have 
made a bootless journey. It was our expectation to have 
met your Worship at the chapel, or otherwise we should 
have visited your vessel, as was our first intent." 

" Nay, Seiior Governor," Colon replied, as he grasped 
the situation ; " it were not Castilian courtesy to allow your 
Excellency to return to shore without tasting the quality of 
our wine. I pray you consider that my poor ship and all 
that it contains is at the bidding of your Excellency and 
your gentlemen." 

Again there was a brief consultation in the boat ; but it 
was apparent that neither the governor nor his attendants 
cared to come to closer quarters with the Spaniards. At 
length he called out, — 

" If it be not unseemly interference, Seiior Colon, may I 
ask your Worship's purpose in putting into my port of San 
Lorenzo with an armed vessel, and sending a large body of 
men on shore without so much as asking for the permission 
of his Majesty's chief officer? " 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION. 293 

At this the Admiral's temper nearly got the better of his 
discretion ; but with a violent effort he controlled it yet a 
little longer, and responded, with an assumption of defer- 
ence fully equal to that exhibited by the governor, — 

" I put into your port of San Lorenzo, worshipful Seiior 
de Castaneda, to escape the fate of my other vessel, which 
was lost in the tempests of the last few days. For many a 
long year have I sailed on many a sea ; but it has been re- 
served until this day for me to find the shelter of the nearest 
port refused me by the officers of a friendly king. I bear 
with me the commission of their Catholic Majesties of Cas- 
tile, Senor Governor ; and if you will but come on board my 
unsightly craft and examine it, you shall find that I am strictly 
enjoined to show all aid and assistance to the subjects of 
his Majesty of Portugal, wherever found, and treat them 
with the honor I should myself expect, as a servant of my 
sovereigns, to receive at their hands. Your Excellency 
must be well aware that in Castile the subjects of Portugal 
are as safe as in their own Court of Lisbon. It would 
seem, nevertheless, from to-day's strange happenings, that 
the subjects of Castile enjoy no such welcome at the hands 
of Portugal." 

Some hesitation was evidently felt by Castaneda as to the 
course he was pursuing, for he betrayed no little embarrass- 
ment when next he spoke. 

" And may I, then, worthy Senor, make so bold as to de- 
mand upon what commission it is that your Worship thus 
freely invades the dominions of a friendly prince?" 

'* That may you, Senor Governor, and right glad I shall 
be to answer your demand, though its phrasing is none of 
the kindliest," replied the Admiral, speaking a few words to 
the pilot at his side, who quickly disappeared. '' And may 
I ask, in turn, what news your Excellency can give me of 
my men who landed this morning under your Excellency's 
protection, and have been restrained by your people from 
returning to their ship?" 

To this the governor answered nothing ; for at that mo- 
ment the pilot despatched by the Admiral returned with a 



294 ^^TH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAX SEA. 

case, from which the latter drew several parchments. Un- 
folding these so as to display their seals, he held them up 
toward the boat, and said in measured tones, — 

"Your Excellency has here, Serior Governor, the royal 
decrees of their Catholic Majesties constituting their un- 
worthy servant Admiral of Castile and Viceroy of the Indies, 
which, by God's blessing, I have but now aimexed to the 
Spanish Crown. In their Majesties' names I demand of 
your Excellency the release of those of their subjects whom 
you are holding prisoners this day. As their Highnesses 
have ordered me to show such special favor to the ships and 
subjects of Portugal, so your Excellency's own sovereign 
shall not fail to be grievously angered that any officer of his 
should show so foul an affront to the envoy and servants of 
his Majesty's allies of Castile as your Excellency has seen fit 
to offer to me and my people." 

The exhibition of the documents bestowing so high a 
rank upon Colon evidently made a profound impression on 
both the governor and those who were with him ; but he 
answered defiantly, — 

" In this island of Santa Maria we know nothing of the 
King and Queen of Spain, worshipful Senor Admiral ; 
neither have we any fear of them nor concern for their 
commissions. What we do is for the Crown of Portugal ; 
and if needs be we shall show that the power of our 
sovereign is no whit less than that of their Majesties of 
Castile." 

This open threat filled up the measure, and away to 
sea blew the Admiral's long-tried patience. Dropping all 
further effort at pretended urbanity, he exclaimed in 
desperation, — 

" Now may the consequences of your acts lie on the head 
that hatched them, Senor de Castaiieda ! Because your Ex- 
cellency has foully trapped the half of my ship's company, 
think not we shall all fall into your treacherous hands. 
There are stout men enough remaining to take this caravel 
to Spain ; and with God's blessing we shall be in Seville be- 
fore many days are past. 'T will best behoove you, there- 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION. 295 

fore, Senor Governor, to put your house in order ; for his 
Majesty of Portugal will not deny the demand of my sov- 
ereigns of Castile that he who has done this traitor's act in 
time of peace shall meet his due reward." 

There was more probability of truth in this declaration 
than was pleasant for the governor to hear. He well knew 
that the Portuguese king was not bent upon having a breach 
at any cost with the Spanish monarchs. If formal complaint 
was made, he was quite aware that King John would readily 
disclaim the act of his governor ; and in that event he, Juan 
de Castaneda, would have an awkward account to settle. So 
he answered somewhat more pacifically this time, — 

" Rest your Excellency assured, Seiior Admiral, that I 
have done naught without the express orders of my gracious 
king. But if you will put back to our port of San Lorenzo, 
I will gladly consider with your Excellency what may best 
be done in this most difficult conjunction." 

Colon saw at once the advantage he was gaining. Call- 
ing upon those around him to bear witness that the gover- 
nor claimed to have acted and spoken under direct orders 
from the Crown of Portugal, he sent this parting shot at the 
boat, which was now turning about prior to putting back to 
shore : — 

" So be it, then, Senor Governor, although the responsi- 
bility is none of mine, nor the difficulty of my making. I 
would but have your Excellency bear in mind that unless 
my men are incontinently released I pledge myself by my 
word and faith, as an Admiral of Castile, that I shall neither 
leave this ship nor set my foot on land until I have come 
back to this port with force sufficient to strip this island of 
its people and carry them all to Spain. I speak not hastily, 
Seiior de Castaneda : mark well my words ! " 

The " Nina " was thereupon put about and steered back 
to the harbor. The Admiral was vastly disturbed over the 
day's occurrences. Neither the governor nor any of the isl- 
anders had intimated that there was any breach of the peace 
between Spain and Portugal, and yet the former's action 
was neither more nor less than one of open hostility. 



296 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

His declaration that what he had done had been by his 
sovereign's orders, pointed to an intentional and premedi- 
tated provocation against Spain ; while his contemptuous 
reference to the sovereigns of that country showed that, in 
the first flush of his success, he had counted upon the sup- 
port of his own government in the high-handed outrage he 
had practised. As Colon reflected over what had passed, 
he was satisfied with his own course. If war really existed 
between the two powers, he had done what was spirited and 
right. If the governor's proceedings were only the excess 
of a mistaken zeal, the consequences would fall on him and 
not on the Admiral. " I could not suffer his insolence to 
pass without replying as regard for propriety demanded," 
the latter writes in summing up the incident. As for his 
attempt to capture the governor himself under promise of 
safe-conduct, he found a sufficient salve for conscience by 
arguing that the Portuguese had broken faith with him, and 
no pledge was binding as toward a traitor. The recollec- 
tion of his narrow escape from the Portuguese fleet on leav- 
ing the Canaries a year before was present in his mind, and 
he only regretted that he had allowed himself, even for a 
single night, to put faith in the protestations of any sub- 
ject of that jealous nation. He was tempted to carry out 
his threat in good earnest, and set sail without delay for 
Spain, to lay the matter before his king and queen and ask 
for the redress which he knew would instantly be granted ; 
but the weather was unsettled and the winds unfavorable to 
the course he had to sail, so that he scarcely ventured to 
run the risk in the crippled condition of his crew. The 
party which had made the first pilgrimage and fallen into 
the islanders' hands contained nearly all his pilots and sea- 
men. Of really able mariners he had not more than four 
left on board ; so there seemed to be no remedy but to re- 
main in the harbor for a few days and see what diplomacy 
could do to secure the release of his people. 

San Lorenzo was a poor port to lie in, especially in such 
a stormy season as then prevailed. On the following day, 
while Colon was awaiting with ill-disguised impatience the 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION: 297 

promised conference with Juan de Castaiieda, the " Nina's " 
cables parted under the constant strain to which they were 
subjected, and she had to seek a safer anchorage. The 
island of Santa Maria offered no other harbor ; so there was 
nothing for the Admiral to do but to stand for San Miguel, 
another of the Azores, which is distant some seventy miles to 
the north of the first named. The little ship was doomed to 
suffer many a buffet, however, before she reached a haven 
of peace. No sooner had she left the shelter of Santa Maria 
than a storm arose which drove her so far out of her course 
that two days and a night passed without a sight of land. 
The danger to which she was constantly exposed throughout 
this gale was in no degree less than that which had con- 
fronted her before ; and short-handed as he was, the Admiral 
looked for disaster to overwhelm them at any hour. " God 
showed us mercy," he writes, " in making the seas come 
from one direction only ; for if they had crossed one an- 
other as they did in the other tempests, much greater evil 
must surely have befallen us." At the end of the second 
day, as the heavy weather still continued and no sign of San 
Miguel was visible, Colon resolved to return to the refuge of 
San Lorenzo, which, bad as it was, was better than beating 
about in a stormy sea with a crew of four available men to 
handle the ship. In these hours of trial his thoughts re- 
verted persistently to the smooth seas and balmy breezes of 
those fair regions beyond the Ocean Sea. He enters in 
his diary : — 

" Not for one single hour did I find the sea in the Indies so 
stormy that it was not easy to navigate ; but here we have been 
constantly exposed to furious tempests, and the same fate befell 
us on our outward voyage when we were sailing to the Canary 
Islands. Well did the sacred writers and the wise philosophers 
of old say that the earthly Paradise lies in the extreme limits of 
the Orient; for the countries which I have discovered are tem- 
perate beyond description, and they must verily constitute the 
eastern end of Asia." 

On the afternoon of Thursday, the 21st of February, the 
" Niiia " came to anchor again in the port of San Lorenzo. 



298 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

Her unexpected departure the day before had clearly 
alarmed the bellicose Seilor de Castaneda, for as soon as 
she approached the shore a man appeared signalling her from 
the water's edge, and calling out that she should remain 
where she was, as the governor desired to communicate with 
the Admiral. Shortly thereafter the captured boat hove in 
sight, rowed by five of the Spanish sailors and containing 
two Portuguese priests and a notary, — evidently a pacific 
embassy. A pledge of security being asked and given, they 
came on board the caravel and delivered their message. 
His Excellency the governor, they assured their hearer, had 
no desire to embarrass in any way the noble Admiral ; he had 
but acted in accordance with his instructions, which were to 
call to account any vessel putting into a port of his jurisdic- 
tion without the special permission of the Portuguese king. 
If the noble Admiral would satisfy his Excellency that he 
had come with no hostile intent, and had not invaded any 
of the territories of Portugal in the voyage from which he 
was returning, his Excellency would release the men and 
render the noble Admiral any service in his power. It was 
very difficult for Colon to listen to this rigmarole with 
patience. He saw that it was a mere pretext on the 
governor's part to escape from his dilemma; that having 
failed to secure the commander himself, he was now anxious 
to retire as gracefully as possible from an untenable position, 
and restore the men who were of no use to him ; and that 
he hoped thereby, since the game was lost, to escape any 
serious consequences from his act of treachery. Colon 
had no idea of yielding too readily to the proposition of 
the governor. He declared that he must reflect upon the 
matter ; and as it was now dark and the weather blustering, 
he induced the emissaries to remain on the ship overnight. 

Ill the morning he inquired of them what was the nature 
of the assurances they demanded as to his intentions and 
authority. They replied that if he would show them that 
in reality he was sailing under the orders of the Spanish 
Crown they would be content. The impudence of this pro- 
posal nearly upset again the Admiral's self-control. That 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION. 299 

he, an ofificer of the highest rank in the navy of Castile, a 
Viceroy of the proudest monarchs in Christendom, the dis- 
coverer of a new path to the Antipodes, should be stopped 
by a petty official of a rival nation as he was bearing to his 
own sovereigns the tidings of his prodigious success, and 
called upon to give an account of his actions to an unknown 
scrivener and two nameless priests, — the very thought was 
gall and wormwood to the Admiral's proud mind ! Con- 
scious of his own mighty deeds, and eager to communicate 
them to his royal patrons, the interference of this petty Por- 
tuguese tyrant was as humiliating as it was insolent. His 
instant impulse was to send the three messengers back to 
Castafieda with a biting answer of scorn and defiance ; but 
a moment's reflection restored his self-command. If he 
secured his men, be the cost to his pride what it might, 
he could sail at once for Spain, and, once before his haughty 
masters, could obtain all the redress and satisfaction he so 
righteously desired for the affronts now offered to their 
standard and representative. Curbing his wrath with a 
mighty efibrt, he accordingly consented to produce his com- 
missions. When the priests and the notary read the ample 
powers vested in the man who stood now so quietly before 
them, and saw the signatures of Ferdinand and Isabella at- 
tached to the summons addressed to the princes at peace 
with Castile to grant all friendly aid and succor to their Ad- 
miral and Viceroy, they realized the mistake the worthy 
governor had made. Profuse in their expressions of respect 
and recognition, they were now all anxiety to return with 
their report ; but their entertainer would not allow them to 
go empty-handed. Choosing from his stores a number of 
curiosities and strange productions from the distant Indies, 
he pressed them upon his embarrassed visitors, who, when 
they finally took their leave, were overwhelmed with the 
graciousness and magnanimity of him whom they had so 
lately scorned and outraged. Within the hour the boat 
returned to the " Nina," bringing all the Spaniards who had 
been detained. Without further delay the Admiral hoisted 
sail and left San Lorenzo, to seek some other place along 



300 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the coast where he could take on board a supply of wood 
and water before laying his course for Spain. 

The restored members of the crew, in giving him an ac- 
count of their experiences while in the hands of the Portu- 
guese, declared that the whole affair, from the moment the 
" Niiia" was first hailed on the evening of the i8th, was a 
plot to secure the person of the Admiral. When the land- 
ing party of pilgrims had settled down to their devotions 
inside the chapel, the sacred edifice was surrounded by the 
whole male population of the island, under the governor's 
immediate command, and every one of the praying Spaniards 
was taken prisoner. As soon as Castaiieda found that the 
Admiral was not in the party captured, he rode off in a tow- 
ering rage to the boat on the beach, determined to go off to 
the caravel and seize Colon, either by stratagem or force. 
Foiled in this second attempt, the governor seems to have 
devoted his energies to extricating himself from the pre- 
dicament into which his hot head had led him, and the 
men had no other ill-treatment to complain of. They had 
learned while in durance that orders had been sent out 
some months before by the King of Portugal to the author- 
ities of all his islands and colonies in the Atlantic Ocean 
and along the Guinea coast, directing them to seize the 
Spanish vessels wherever they should appear, and take the Ad- 
miral prisoner. That the governor of Santa Maria had failed 
in his amiable design was due only to the fact that Colon 
had decided to accompany the second party of pilgrims to 
the chapel. The messengers who had taken the news of 
the intended pilgrimage to Castaneda when they had offered 
to get the priest, had not been aware of this arrangement, 
and so a very prettily laid scheme had ended only in chagrin. 
What wonder that the Admiral, as he contrasted the recep- 
tion of the savage king of Marien with that extended by the 
civilized governor of Santa Maria, should have thought that 
not the elements alone were better regulated in the Indies ! 
As one reads Colon's account of this first welcome offered 
by the people of the Old World to the finder of the New, 
one is tempted to regret that he did not leave his band of 



THE GRACES OF CIVILIZATION. 301 

pilgrims in Santa Maria and adjust the score in the manner 
he threatened. 

It was not until early evening on the 23d that the Admiral 
found a place where he could come to anchor and procure 
the supplies he wanted, and even then the surf was running 
so high that he would not send the boat ashore. Sunday, 
the 24th, broke with a strong southwest breeze which threat- 
ened to drag the vessel and cast her on the rocks if she were 
kept any longer where she was. This wind, too, was fair for 
the Spanish coast, and the prompt completion of his voyage 
suited better the Admiral's present humor than losing another 
day in waiting to take in water. An inspection of the stock 
on hand showed that with proper husbanding it would last 
the remainder of the journey, and he therefore ordered the 
anchor weighed and the ship's head laid for Home. Great 
was the rejoicing among officers and men when they thought 
that the next port they should make would be within the 
borders of Castile. Had they known what still lay before 
them, they would have preferred remaining in Santa Maria, 
even in their shirts. 




XXIV. 
KING AND COMMONS. 

FOR three days the weather held good, and the "Nina" 
made fair progress to the east and northeast ; but on 
Tuesday night the wind changed to a gale, and she was driven 
off her course and wandered at the mercy of the storm for 
forty-eight hours. This constant succession of tempests "at 
the very door of home," as Colon puts it, seemed to him to 
be meant as a judgment upon the pride and satisfaction with 
which he was looking forward to the reception with which 
his great news would be greeted when he reached Spain. 
After all, what was he but an instrument of the Almighty in 
this stupendous event ? To God was due the glory, and to 
Him alone ; and the Admiral piously reproaches himself for 
having appropriated too large a share of the credit of the 
enterprise. 

On Friday the weather changed for the better, and on 
this and the next day the ship was able to make good head- 
way. On Sunday, the 3d of March, another storm set in 
which came nearer to bringing the voyage to a fatal ter- 
mination than any of its predecessors, pitiless as they had 
been. The Admiral believed himself to be not far from 
Cape St. Vincent, and was steering east when the storm fell 
upon him. Without a moment's warning a cyclone stnick 
the little ship ; and before an order could be shouted or a 
hand stretched out to seize a rope, the sails were split into a 
thousand shreds, and the " Niiia " was plunging blindly along 
under bare poles. The sea, already heavy from the previ- 
ous gales, now mounted in heaping masses about the terri- 
fied crew, crashing down upon the devoted vessel from 



KING AND COMMONS. 303 

every direction and threatening her with instant annihila- 
tion. Again the despairing company appealed to Heaven 
for the aid they could no longer render themselves, and, 
casting lots, vowed that whoever should draw out the cross- 
marked bean should make a humble pilgrimage to the Vir- 
gin of the Belt in Huelva, near their native port of Palos, 
and in his shirt give thanks for the infinite mercy shown in 
saving them from this imminent destruction. Strange to say, 
for the third time the Admiral was indicated by chance to 
do this act of penance ; and in this fact he discerned the 
Divine intention of rebuking him publicly for his vainglory. 
Not content with this vicarious deed of penance and con- 
trition, the whole crew now joined in vowing that the first 
Sunday they should spend on land they would touch no 
other food than bread and water, — not a small matter for 
men to promise who had been living on little else for six 
weeks and enduring the while so many other hardships. 

The storm continued without a break all that day and 
night, accompanied by frequent violent rains and a cease- 
less play of lightning. The fury of the seas — not regi- 
mented billows, but a frantic confusion of gigantic waves, 
— cast the tiny caravel from the ragged summit of one 
watery mountain into the seething hollow of the next ; and 
not for a single moment did the worn-out mariners draw a 
breath in peace. "It pleased Our Lord to sustain us," 
Colon records, " although through infinite peril and distress ; 
and when daylight came He showed us land." Two sailors 
caught sight of a lofty rock in the dismal light of the early 
morning ; but it was only an additional source of danger. 
The coast proved to be iron-bound, and as it lay on their 
lee they were lost beyond the hope of salvation unless they 
could wear their ship farther out to sea. To make any 
sail at all was to expose them to scarcely less danger of 
foundering ; but there was at least a fighting chance for 
their lives, and they took it. As the light grew stronger, 
the Admiral recognized that he was off the mouth of the 
Tagus, and that the headland in sight was the far-famed 
Rock of Cintra. The knowledge brought him little con- 



304 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

solation ; for to enter the Tagus was to put himself irrevo- 
cably in the power of Portugal. What choice had he, 
however ? Better deliver himself up as a prisoner and trust 
to the Almighty and their Majesties of Castile to rescue 
him, than to expose his whole ship's company to almost cer- 
tain death ! Putting the " Nina's " head about, he slowly 
and laboriously beat toward the mouth of the river, and 
after hours of torturing suspense made the entrance and 
came to anchor off the little village of Cascaes, where the 
water was fairly quiet. Many a time in previous years had 
he sailed gladly into the Tagus, homeward bound from dis- 
tant climes ; but on this one occasion, when he most needed 
her shelter and yet was loath to avail of it, did she play the 
churl and strive to bar the way against him. The residents 
of the fishing hamlet put out at once to the caravel to see 
what the new arrival was, and were loud in their expressions 
of wonder that the ship had been able to live in such a gale. 
All morning long, they said, they had watched the " Nina " 
as she fought her desperate battle, and over and over again 
had given her up for lost, although they never ceased their 
prayers that she might reach their harbor in safety. When 
they heard of the voyage she had made, they could not credit 
their ears. So fearful a winter had never been known along 
the Atlantic coast within the memory of the oldest sailor. 
They reported that on the Flemish shores alone five-and- 
twenty vessels had been lost, and there were others in the 
Tagus, bound for Flanders, which had been waiting for four 
months for a chance to put to sea with reasonable safety. 

Later in the day, when the tide served, the Admiral left 
his anchorage at Cascaes, and continued up the river to 
Rastelo, just below Lisbon, where incoming ships had to lie 
until permitted to go on to the city. He was determined 
to put a bold face on his arrival, since he was completely at 
the mercy of the Portuguese. Not only might they seize 
him on the pretext that he had been filibustering in their 
newly acquired African dependencies, as Castaiieda had at- 
tempted ; but there were old scores against him, dating ten 
years back to the days when he plead his cause at King 



KING AND COMMONS. 305 

John's Court, and kept the wolf from the door by making 
maps and sailing ships. He would act as became a man of 
courage and an officer of the Spanish Crown, at all events ; 
and so he at once addressed a missive to the king, announc- 
ing his presence in the Tagus, and asking permission to take 
his vessel up to Lisbon. He based his request upon the 
fact that there was no sufficient protection at the station 
where he was, and as the report had gone abroad that his 
ship contained great treasures, he was exposed to attack 
from the lawless inhabitants of the river-bank. In order to 
remove all idea from the king's mind that the Spanish ves- 
sels had been trespassing in the countries claimed by Por- 
tugal, Colon added that he had not been near the Guinea 
coast, but had come direct from the Indies, which he had 
reached by crossing the Western Ocean. He put himself 
under the protection of his Majesty in obedience to the or- 
ders of his own sovereigns, who had directed him to ask 
whatever aid he might require from their ally of Portugal, 
and to pay for it at its full value. This letter he despatched 
to the king, who was at the Valle do Paraiso, some nine 
leagues from Lisbon. It shows the shrewdness of the wri- 
ter's mind, notwithstanding the open frankness which was 
one of his chief characteristics. He had every reason to 
suppose that King John was disposed to make him prisoner, 
either from envy of Spain or from a grudge against the Ad- 
miral himself for having left his Majesty's service and gone 
to seek his fortunes in Castile. By boldly appealing to the 
king for assistance and protection in the name of the Span- 
ish Crown, he threw the Portuguese monarch into the 
unpleasant dilemma of affronting his allies by an act of un- 
disguised hostility, or of smothering his resentment and al- 
lowing the Spanish Admiral to refit his vessel at leisure and 
depart in peace. The event proved the wisdom of Colon's 
move. King John was anything but prepared to seize the 
Viceroy of his neighboring allies by an act of open violence, 
and had no remedy but to put as good a face as possible 
upon his envious disappointment, and welcome the Admiral 
as the representative of the Spanish monarchs. 



306 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

One more trial, and that a bitter one, was in store for 
Colon before he tasted that rare wine of triumph of which 
he was to drink so deep. When he had anchored at 
Rastelo he had noticed with admiration a huge man-of-war 
lying not far off, which he knew, from her size and appoint- 
ments, was the flagship of the Portuguese navy. " A better 
ship, or one more nobly provided with artillery and all 
manner of arms, I never have seen," he writes, in a gen- 
uine seaman's delight at so splendid a craft. The morning 
after his arrival, while waiting for an answer to his letter to 
the king, he saw an armed boat put off from the great ship 
and make direct for the caravel. On coming alongside the 
" Nifia," the officer in charge of the boat gave a hail and 
asked for her commander. The Admiral at once presented 
himself and inquired what was wanted of him. Rising in 
his boat, the Portuguese officer replied, with little attempt 
to choose his words, — 

" His Excellency Dom Alvaro Dama, captain of his Maj- 
esty's flagship yonder, desires to know your business in the 
Tagus, good Senor, and has sent me to bring your Worship 
aboard his vessel. For myself, I am your Worship's humble 
servitor, Bartolom^ Diaz, a poor lieutenant of his Majesty 
King John, whom may God preserve ! " 

" Amen, Dom Bartolom^ ! " said the Admiral, cut to the 
quick by the cool impertinence of the summons, and reflect- 
ing bitterly on the vast disparity between his weather-beaten 
cockleshell and the magnificent war-ship before his eyes. 
"Your vessel is a noble one and worthily commanded. 
But I am Admiral of the Ocean Sea, a humble servant of 
their Catholic Majesties of Spain, and I have never heard 
that it was the usance of a Spanish Admiral to give account 
of his actions to every Portuguese captain he chanced 
to meet. If your worthy commander wants me he can 
take me without a doubt, for he has ten times my power ; 
but save by force of stronger arms, I stir not from this ship. 
Take that for my reply to Dom Alvaro Dama, good Seiior 
Lieutenant, and God speed you as you go ! " 

The easy-going lieutenant saw that he had a harder task 



KING AND COMMONS. 307 

on his hands than he had thought, or his captain either, and 
changed his tone at hearing the high rank claimed by the 
tall stranger who had answered him so harshly, 

" I crave your Excellency's pardon, Seiior Admiral, for an 
offence that was not intended. No doubt the requirements 
of my noble captain will be fulfilled if your Excellency but 
sends with me the master of your vessel, or any one to an- 
swer for your Excellency." 

But the Admiral's wrath was at a white heat. All the 
treachery and insults he had received from the Portuguese, 
from the time when, years before, they had tried to steal 
the glory of his enterprise, up to this present moment when 
a supercilious subordinate was bandying words with the 
bearer of a new world, came flooding into his mind and 
broke down the last barriers of his self-control. 

" I doubt not that such a token of submission would be 
welcome to your chief, Senor," he responded, with a ring of 
irony in his voice ; " but neither master of the ship nor 
sailor of the crew shall go on board your vessel except by 
stress of better fighting. As willingly should I go myself as 
let any one go for me, and 't is easier for me to die fighting, 
as is the custom of the Admirals of Castile, than live at the 
behest of every underling of Portugal." 

Lieutenant Bartolom^ began to see that prudence would 
be golden, and strove to allay the storm his careless inso- 
lence had raised. 

" I protest, most noble Admiral," he said with great def- 
erence, " that neither my captain nor myself, your Excel- 
lency's servant, has any wish to attack the dignity of Spain 
or assail your Excellency's authority. If your Excellency 
will but deign to let me see your powers, I shall be able to 
certify to Dom Alvaro that I have performed my duty, and 
report your Excellency's exalted rank to my commander." 

The Admiral was tempted to look upon this as a fresh 
piece of impertinence ; but the thought of the imminent 
necessity of avoiding any overt quarrel with the Portuguese 
authorities led him to yield a little of his dignity, and he 
sent for his commission. 



308 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

" So be it then, Senor Lieutenant," he answered ; " a drop 
more in the ocean will not cause it to overflow." 

When the parchments were brought, he exhibited them to 
the ofificer, who saluted the signatures of Ferdinand and 
Isabella and returned at once on board the flagship. Colon 
remained in an anxious frame of mind, determined to resist 
to the uttermost any attempt at violence, but distressed at the 
prospect of meeting with disaster just as he had escaped 
such mighty dangers and was so near the end of his weary 
journey. But the report made by Dom Bartolom^ Diaz on 
reaching the flagship had opened many eyes. In a short time 
the Admiral saw the great barge of that vessel put off from 
her side and head for the " Nina " with a company who were 
plainly bent on no deeds of arms. Seated in the stern was 
a gayly dressed party of officers, and over the water, in ad- 
vance of the approaching barge, floated the martial music 
of cymbals, drum, and pipe. Seemingly a visit of high cere- 
mony was intended, and all on board the Spanish caravel 
awaited with eager interest the explanation of so stately a 
proceeding. When the boat drew near the " Niiia," it 
proved to contain Dom Alvaro Dama and his staff", who 
saluted the Spaniards and asked leave to present their com- 
pliments to the Admiral, Like a brave and generous sailor, 
the Portuguese captain had resolved frankly to make amends 
for the error of the morning as quickly as he heard who the 
new arrival was, and had come with the pomp befitting 
the rank of the caravel's commander. Colon received his 
visitors at the ship's side with all the honors, and conducted 
them to his own cabin. There Dom Alvaro tendered his apol- 
ogies for the recent occurrence, excusing himself on the 
ground that he was unaware of the distinguished rank of his 
host, and begged to be allowed to supply whatever the Ad- 
miral might require. The latter accepted willingly the cap- 
tain's explanations, and promised to avail himself of his 
tenders of service should occasion arise. He then enter- 
tained his guests with an account of the voyage to the In- 
dies, exhibiting his savages and other curiosities for their 
inspection. After an agreeable conversation, the Portuguese 



KING AND COMMONS. 3O9 

took their leave, charmed with their reception, and having 
equally delighted the Admiral by their courteous and hearty 
bearing. He had no longer any fear of petty treacheries 
at least, for he knew that the visit just ended was a sincere 
tribute of respect and amity. 

The extraordinary nature of the *' Nina's " voyage and 
cargo was soon noised through Lisbon, and for the next two 
days the ship was overrun with visitors, and her commander 
burdened with well-meant civilities from the most distin- 
guished residents of the capital. To all their compliments 
and flattery he answered simply that it was God's doing ; 
that he had merely been an instrument of the Divine Prov- 
idence in what had been accomplished. To such questions 
as- seemed to be designed to draw from him a more partic- 
ular knowledge than he cared to give concerning his late 
discoveries, he returned politic and guarded replies. He 
was not going to be led into betraying his secrets by the 
smooth tongues of the Portuguese courtiers. As for his visi- 
tors, their amazement knew no limits, and on all sides was 
to be heard the remark that this dazzling acquisition was 
palpably the direct gift of God to the Spanish monarchs in 
return for their zealous piety in conquering the Moors and 
driving from their dominions the infidel children of Abra- 
ham. In the scanty leisure permitted him by these con- 
stant demands upon his hospitality, Colon prepared a letter to 
Ferdinand and Isabella in which he announced the chief re- 
sults of his expedition. This he sent overland to Barcelona, 
at the extreme border of the Spanish territories, from Lisbon, 
as he had learned that the Castilian Court was estab- 
lished in that city. By the same bearer he forw^arded 
the letter he had written on shipboard to Don Luiz de 
Santangel, having only added to it a postscript on the day 
he had come up the river, in which he told his friend of his 
safe arrival at Lisbon, and contrasted the inclemency of the 
weather with the benignity of the " Indian " climate. " It 
was always like the month of May," he wrote, as if drawing 
a comparison with the harsh months of February and March 
in the North Atlantic. 



3IO IVITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

On Friday, the 8th of March, being the fifth day of the 
" Nina's" detention in the Tagus, Dom Martin de Noronha, 
one of the royal chamberlains, came aboard the caravel, 
bringing the answer of King John to the Admiral's appeal. 
His Majesty therein expressed his very great satisfaction in 
hearing of the safe arrival of the Spanish vessel and the de- 
sire he had to learn from the distinguished navigator's own 
lips the details of his astonishing exploit. He therefore 
begged Colon that, since the weather was yet so tempestu- 
ous that he could not put to sea, he would visit the royal 
palace of Valle do Paraiso as the honored guest of his Majesty. 
The letter added that Dom Martin de Noronha, its bearer, 
was instructed to wait upon the Admiral and furnish him 
with all he might require. In presenting this reply, the 
chamberlain also stated that the king had directed the 
authorities of Lisbon to supply without charge both the ship 
and her crew with whatever they might need, and that he 
himself was to remain exclusively at the orders of the Ad- 
miral. All this was very flattering and gracious ; but Colon 
was loath to leave his ship and go so far into the country to 
visit King John. He had lived too long among the Portu- 
guese to have forgotten their sententious proverb, that 
" Feathers and words both float on the wind," and he had 
hard experience that the royal breath was no weightier 
than that of commoner mortals. " The word of the king 
cannot turn back," the same people were fond of saying ; 
but he had seen it not only turn back, but roll in the mire 
as well, and he hesitated to trust it now. However, he had 
no excuse for declining the royal invitation ; the more espe- 
cially as any display of reluctance would probably give rise 
to suspicions as to the real nature of his voyage, and thus af- 
ford a plausible pretext for his detention. He accordingly 
signified to Dom Martin his intention to comply with his 
Majesty's commands, and ordered his trusty pilot, Pedro 
Alonzo, to be prepared to accompany him on the journey. 
The party set out in the afternoon, under the guidance of 
the royal chamberlain and escorted by a proper guard, and 
went as far on their road as the town of Sacambem. The 



KING AND COMMONS. 3 I i 

following morning they continued their journey, despite a 
drenching rain, and reached the Valley of Paradise late in 
the afternoon. 

The Admiral was met at the entrance to the palace by 
all the dignitaries and officers of the Court, and treated 
with the utmost distinction. After changing his travel- 
ling-dress for a garb more befitting the occasion, he was 
conducted to the audience-chamber, where he found King 
John, surrounded by his whole court as on a state oc- 
casion. Advancing toward the dais, the Admiral bent his 
knee and kissed the royal hand ; then rising, waited for the 
king to speak, as etiquette demanded. The king, however, 
directed that a chair be brought, and affably insisted that 
the Admiral should be seated while in his presence. This 
honor was the more marked by reason of its excessive rarity 
in that punctilious Court ; and at this moment Colon must 
have felt a triumph in some degree commensurate with the 
trials and hardships of the bitter past. It was only ten 
years since he had left Lisbon overwhelmed with debt and 
almost despairing under the weight of grievous disappoint- 
ment. It was only five years this same month of March 
since King John himself had offered to him, as an induce- 
ment to return to Portugal and renew the negotiations for 
his western enterprise, that he " should not be seized, de- 
tained, accused, cited, or tried on any charge, whether civil 
or criminal." To-day he was sitting in the presence of this 
very prince, the one member of all that glittering company 
for whom such a condescension was admissible ! 

The Portuguese sovereign engaged in an earnest and 
even cordial conversation with his guest, as if bent on re- 
moving all possible doubt or distrust from his mind. He 
congratulated the Admiral upon the happy termination of 
his adventurous expedition, and asked him many questions 
about the new lands he had visited, and their people and 
productions. Colon answered all the royal inquiries with 
frankness and simplicity, but was ever on his guard against 
surprise. He knew the man he had to deal with, sovereign 
though he was ; and that his caution was not superfluous soon 



3 1 2 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

became apparent. • The Admiral having said that beyond 
all question the countries he had discovered were the east- 
ern confines of Asia and the isles of the Indies, King John 
raised his hand as if in dissent, and remarked in his suavest 
tones, — 

" There we cannot accompany you, Senor Don Admiral, 
without far greater study than we have as yet been able to 
give to so grave a matter. As we read the charts, by sail- 
ing so far to the west you have come within the eastern 
world which was conceded to us by our allies of Spain in the 
capitulations of seventy-nine. But there is no cause for dis- 
puting now this matter ; after we have taken the judgment 
of our most skilled astronomers and map-men regarding it, 
we will discuss the question amicably with their Majesties 
of Castile. Both the Crown of Spain and ourselves wish 
for nothing that may not be of right our due." 

The Admiral suspected a trap he could not see. Even 
the assumed indifference of the king seemed to him sus- 
picious. So, bowing toward his royal host, he answered 
with great deference, — 

" Your Majesty most surely knows far more of such weighty 
affairs than a poor sea-captain, for neither of the treaty nor 
of other concerns of State do I know aught. But I crave your 
Majesty's gracious license to say that my sovereign's strictest 
orders were that I should touch neither at the Gold Coast 
nor other part of Guinea, nor explore in the direction of 
any of the territories claimed by Portugal. The warning 
that my ships were forbidden from all such interference with 
the labors of your Majesty's own hardy navigators was pro- 
claimed formally in every port of Andalusia before I sailed 
last year. If, therefore, despite my anxious precautions, I 
have approached too near the eastern world allotted to your 
royal Crown, I most humbly entreat your Majesty to believe 
that it was due to my poor skill in navigation, and not to any 
desire to invade the limits of your Majesty's possessions." 

Whether King John knew anything about the "eastern 
world " which he had claimed in the partition of the Ocean 
made in 1479 '^^'^ Castile is more than doubtful; he cer- 



KING AND COMMONS. 313 

tainly had no ambition to dispute the point with the fore- 
most geographer of the age. So he blandly dismissed the 
subject with a smile. 

" Without doubt, without doubt, Senor Admiral. The 
matter calls for no immediate adjustment, and I question 
not shall be settled between our Crown and their Catholic 
Majesties without the need of an arbitrator." 

With this the king brought the audience to a close by a 
renewal of his former offer of assistance in anything the Ad- 
miral might need. He assigned his guest to the care of the 
Prior of the Convent of Crato, as being the principal person- 
age of the Court, and announced his desire of continuing the 
conversation at an early opportunity. The eminent ecclesias- 
tic proved to be a nobleman in more than the conventional 
sense ; and from him Colon received a sincere and generous 
attention. What would the worthy Covernor of Santa Maria 
have thought had he but known that the commander of the 
dingy little caravel whom he had held in the harbor of San 
Lorenzo was the honored guest of his most serene mon- 
arch? That it was hard to fathom the purposes of kings, 
perhaps. 

Early on the following day the Admiral was summoned to 
the king's presence, and spent a long time in detailing to 
his Majesty the information he was eager to acquire con- 
cerning the regions his visitor had explored and the ocean 
he had twice traversed. The king informed Colon that the 
queen was residing for the time being at the Monastery of 
San Antonio at Villafranca, near Lisbon, and greatly desired 
to converse with the Admiral ; whereupon the latter asked 
the king's permission to leave the Court on the next day, in 
order that he might do his homage to her Majesty as he re- 
turned to his vessel. To this King John perforce assented, 
having no pretence for further detaining his guest ; and the 
Admiral made his preparations for departure. From all 
the royal household, from monarch to man-at-arms, he had 
received unequivocal marks of respect and admiration ; but 
he bore himself with a studious moderation and simplicity. 
Those who applauded his deeds were not his friends j and 



314 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

this he knew without the need of any monitory incident. 
Both national and personal jealousy were actively ferment- 
ing, and he acted in all respects with the circumspection 
of a trained courtier. If the Crown of Portugal could not 
hope to rob the Spanish sovereigns of their new-gained 
world, there was many an intriguer attached to it who would 
do his best endeavor to destroy the fame of its discoverer. 
What was he to them, at best, but a map-drawing merchant 
sailor, dressed in red velvet? If he gave no indication of 
the thought that was in his mind, the Admiral kept it none 
the less ever present ; and it was well for him that he did. 
Some faithful ally of his numberless detractors hastened to 
advise the Spanish Court that their Admiral was negotiating 
in secret the delivery of the Indies to the King of Portugal, 
and that his arrival in the Tagus was due to this intended 
treachery ! To the credit of Ferdinand and Isabella be it 
said, the venomous tale was wasted in the telling ; but it 
rankled long in Colon's heart, and years afterward he re- 
ferred to it as one of the crowning indignities to which he 
had been exposed. There is no evidence that he was 
aware of the malicious deed at the time ; but his path in 
the Vale of Paradise was so beset with pitfalls that it is no 
marvel he was anxious to exchange the glory that beats 
about a throne for the safer quiet of his narrow quarters on 
the caravel. 

After breakfast on the morning of the nth he had h'S 
final audience with the king, and kissed the royal hands on 
taking leave. King John was graciousness itself, and con- 
fided to the Admiral various messages he desired to send to 
the Spanish monarchs. He also directed Dom Martin de 
Noronha to act as escort for the Admiral back to Lisbon, 
and, in fine, bade him farewell with as many demonstrations 
of friendliness as he had shown in receiving him. For the 
first league out of the Valle do Paraiso Colon was accom- 
panied by a large party of the courtiers, who testified in this 
manner their esteem, whether real or feigned, for their de- 
parting guest ; and when they at length parted from him, 
it was with every outward show of distinguished honor. 



KING AND COMMONS. 315 

Late in the afternoon of the same day the Admiral and 
his escort arrived at the Monastery of San Antonio. He 
was received with much cordiahty by the queen and royal 
princes. Her Majesty in particular showed a lively interest 
in all his exploits, and dismissed him with many assurances 
of her highest consideration. That night he slept at Llan- 
dra, on the road to Lisbon, intending to reach his ship the 
next day and set sail without delay, as the weather was 
now propitious. In the morning, however, a royal page 
arrived from the Valle do Paraiso with a message from 
King John. His Majesty sent word that after the Ad- 
miral's departure he had bethought him that perhaps his 
visitor would find it more convenient to make the journey 
overland to Spain, rather than continue on by sea, and had 
therefore sent one of his pages to accompany the Admiral 
to the Spanish frontier should he so elect. The king had 
also sent a couple of excellent mules from the royal stables 
for the use of the Admiral and his pilot on the proposed 
journey ; and the page had authority to provide all else 
that might be requisite for Colon's comfort. This hospi- 
table offer the Admiral declined, with many expressions of 
gratitude and recognition. The page therefore took his 
departure, leaving the two mules for the Admiral's use on 
the remainder of his road to Lisbon, and bestowing upon 
the pilot a purse of golden sequins.'' 

This proposal of the Portuguese king, coming as it did at 
the eleventh hour, is not easy of explanation with the light 
we now possess. Some have held, looking through Spanish 
glasses, that if the Admiral had accepted the offer he would 
never have reached any frontier this side the Stygian shores. 
Certain of King John's counsellors, this school affirm, had 
poisoned the royal ear with dastardly suggestions of the vast 
increase likely to accrue to the Castilian power from the 
Admiral's discoveries, and pointed out a ready way of pre- 
venting their being utilized, at least under his leadership. 
Others again, dipping their pens in Portuguese ink, deny this 

^ This incident is related with some variations by Las Casas ; but 
the diary gives it, in greater detail, as above recorded. 



3I6 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

imputation as a malicious slander, and attribute King John's 
offer to an hospitable afterthought intended to spare his 
illustrious visitor the tedium and uncertainty of completing 
his journey by water. We see no cause to question the 
substantial accuracy of the latter view, although there seems 
to be no doubt that the king was in fact urged to seize the 
tempting opportunity to dispose effectually of the man who 
promised to raise Castile beyond the wildest dreams of 
Portuguese rivalry. Colon himself, who certainly evinces 
elsewhere no tenderness for the sensibilities of Lusitania, 
makes no remark upon the possible motives of King John. 
In relating the various incidents of his visit to that sovereign 
he simply adds, " I have recorded all that the king did to 
me, so that your Majesties should know." The Delphic 
oracle itself could not be more sibylline. 

At nightfall on Wednesday, the 12th of March, Colon 
reached Lisbon, and went directly on board the " Nifia." 




1^ 






^^ 




^^ 


^^^^ 


^ 


m 




R^¥T^^ 




^ 


^3 



XXV. 

HIGH NOON AND THE TIDE AT FLOOD. 

AT eight o'clock on the morning of the 13th of March 
the "Nina" weighed anchor and stood down the 
Tagus on her way to Spain. The weather was fair and the 
wind favorable for her southerly run, so that by daylight of 
the 14th she was off Cape St. Vincent. It was the Admiral's 
intention, on leaving Lisbon, to make direct for the mouth 
of the Guadalquivir and ascend that river to Seville, where 
he would be within comparatively easy reach of his sover- 
eigns ; but as he changed his course for the eastward run 
he also altered his plans, and decided to put into Palos, and 
there determine upon his future movements. All that day 
and evening he coasted along the shores of Portugal, mak- 
ing but slow progress, for as night shut in he was only off 
the harbor of Furon. By the time the sun rose on the 15 th, 
however, the coast presented a familiar appearance to the 
joyful crew ; for as far as the eye could follow stretched the 
" fat sands " and fiat beaches which form the seacoast of 
Andalusia. The wind was light ; but the tide was in their 
favor, and before long they sighted the entrance to the 
estuary of the Tinto and the Odiel. Slowly the " Niiia " 
crept toward the well-known harbor, until the excited sailors 
could see the little town of Saltes, then the hills behind 
Palos itself, and at last the white walls of La Rabida on the 
height. Onward swept the little caravel, borne rather by 
tide than wind. Willing hands executed the Admiral's 
orders to hoist the royal standard on the "castle " and the 



3l8 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

banner of the green cross at the mainmast head ; and with 
such sorry pomp as she could muster the battered vessel 
moved steadily to her goal. She had not many miles to go ; 
but she seemed almost reluctant to traverse them, as if loath 
to close her glorious career. The sun was nearly overhead 
when she reached the Saltes bar ; a few rolls and plunges 
and she was past it. As the dial marked high noon and the 
tide was touching flood, the " Nina " entered the Tinto and 
sought the anchorage she had left seven months and fifteen 
days before. She had seen strange sights and done brave 
deeds, had this " little Girl," in the interval. 

There had been ample time for the report to spread 
from the riverside to Palos and Moguer that " one of the 
Senor Colon's ships " was coming into harbor; and as soon 
as the " Nifia " had swung around, she was surrounded by 
boatloads of eager townspeople. Heartily responding to 
their greetings, the Admiral gave them such tidings as he 
could at the time ; but he himself was anxious to reach the 
shore. Entering his boat at the earliest possible moment, 
he was rowed to the landing-place. The welcome which he 
received was a foretaste of what the ensuing months had in 
store for him. The whole population of Palos and its vicin- 
ity for miles around had crowded to the beach ; and as 
Colon stepped from the boat, loud shouts of gladness and 
unstinted praise arose from every side. The good Fray 
Antonio was waiting with ready arms for the man he loved 
and had served so well ; and as the two friends were locked 
in a warm embrace, there were more tears seen than words 
spoken for a few minutes. After him there was the young 
physician to be greeted in a manner scarcely less earnest. 
Then Juan of the hard head pressed forward, eager to re- 
port right then and there his fulfilment of " the Master's " 
orders. Burly Sebastian, the privateersman, claimed recog- 
nition too ; and Diego Prieto and his fellow-functionaries 
were impatient to give his Excellency the Sefior Don Ad- 
miral a practical demonstration of the flexibility of the offi- 
cial knee. Besides these, there were a hundred questioners 
to answer as to where the voyage had led the fleet and what 



HIGH NOON AND THE TIDE AT FLOOD. 319 

had befallen the " Pinta " and the "Santa Maria." The 
Admiral was, of course, the centre of attention, though 
every sailor was encompassed by his own small circle of 
joyful friends or curious listeners. If in the midst of the 
general rejoicing and enthusiasm there was heard now and 
again a broken sob or a choking prayer to Our Lady of Sor- 
rows, it was only some stricken woman bewailing the loss of 
husband or son who was not a member of the " Niiia's " 
crew. Such things must happen, of course, even in the 
victories of Peace ; and it was too much to expect an An- 
dalusian peasant to care more for the aggrandizement of 
the Spanish Crown than for her own happiness. As for the 
copper-colored savages who stood together in a wondering 
group apart, they divided with the Admiral himself the 
honors of the day. Unhappily, they left no record of their 
impressions of the white man's " heaven " which they had 
now reached. It would be worth while to know what their 
ideas had been while they were being pitched around in the 
storm-tossed ship and stared at by the Lisbon crowds. By 
the time they had reached Palos they must have had grave 
doubts as to the celestial origin of their bearded shipmates. 
Colon was the first to remind his men that their earliest 
duty lay within the walls of St. George's Church. Forming 
in ceremonious procession, they all marched into the sanc- 
tuary, and devoutly offered up their thanks for the manifold 
tokens of Divine favor which they had received. Te Detim 
Laudamiis was solemnly intoned ; and voyagers and towns- 
folk alike joined in the praise for the triumph which had 
been vouchsafed to what all were now overjoyed to claim as 
'' the ships of Palos." The service of thanksgiving com- 
pleted, the men were pulled hither and thither by those who 
claimed them, and appealed to their commander for his in- 
structions as to their future movements. The Admiral 
would not let his men disperse beyond his reach, for he 
was half inclined to complete the journey to Barcelona by 
sea ; but he gave them liberty to go at pleasure within the 
reach of his summons. Little by little the throng broke up 
and drifted off in sections, with one of the pilots or some 



320 IViril THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

seaman as the axis of its independent motion. The news 
the travellers had to tell was too marvellous even in its 
naked truth to be easily grasped by their hearers, and we 
may be sure it lost none of its strangeness in the telling ; 
so the loss of their relatives and gossips on the "Pinta" 
was of more ready comprehension by the townspeople, and 
came nearer to them by far than wild stories of countries 
where one-eyed men ate those with two eyes, and all alike 
went naked from one year's end to the next. The Admiral 
himself went with the superior and Garcia Fernandez to the 
convent, and was soon deeply immersed in informing him- 
self as to the condition of affairs in Spain, and in relating 
to his sympathetic auditors the chief events of the voyage 
so happily concluded. It was late at night when the three 
friends separated ; and Colon for the first time in many 
months lay down to rest undisturbed by care and unhar- 
rassed by suspicion. That night, if we mistake not, it would 
not have been in the power of " any mosquito " to have in- 
terfered with his slumbers. 

For the next few days the Admiral's energies were taxed 
to the utmost. He had abandoned his idea of passing 
through the Straits of Gibraltar with his caravel and going 
to Barcelona by sea, and had despatched a courier to an- 
nounce to their Majesties his arrival at Palos, and his inten- 
tion to go overland by way of Seville at the first practicable 
moment. He now had to make all the arrangements both 
for this journey and for closing up the most pressing mat- 
ters connected with the voyage. There was the " Niiia " to 
be unloaded and disposed of ; the crew to be discharged, or 
dismissed on liberty; his reports and charts to be com- 
pleted and prepared for their Majesties' inspection ; and 
many letters written to the Court and his friends elsewhere 
announcing the result of his expedition and future plans. 
Nor were the obligations of religion less exacting. The 
very day after his arrival was a Saturday ; and in compliance 
with their pledge he and his men again all walked in pro- 
cession to St. George's Church in airy attire, and there 
heard Mass, both as a complement to their fast on that day 



HIGH NOON AND THE TIDE AT FLOOD. 32 I 

and to complete the pilgrimage so rudely interrupted at the 
Portuguese chapel in Santa Maria. Another day he had to 
spend in going to Santa Maria of the Belt, in Huelva ; while 
a night was passed at the altar of Santa Clara of Moguer. 
Pedro de Villa must also be despatched on his long trip to 
Loreto in the territories of the Pope, to perform the penance 
thrust upon him by his lot. As for Our Lady of Guadaloupe, 
she had to wait for her five-pound candle of pure white wax 
until the Admiral came within more convenient distance. 
The debt was as good as gold ; for those who went down 
into the sea in ships in those days settled with the saints 
as punctually as they fleeced their fellow-sinners. 

While the Admiral was thus busied with his manifold 
duties, secular and religious, what might well have passed 
for a miracle happened, throwing the little town into 
an excitement even greater than that attending Colon's 
own arrival. One day a vessel stood up the broad estuary, 
and crossing the bar, dropped anchor by the "Nina." 
Those who saw her rubbed their eyes and crossed them- 
selves in terror ; for either the new-comer was a phantom 
ship or she was the " Pinta," which was supposed to be 
lying at the bottom of the deep Atlantic. Strange to say, 
from the ship herself no word was brought at first. A boat 
put off from her side ; but instead of boarding the " Nina " 
or making for the landing-place, it headed for a little cove, 
and there discharged its passengers. It was only when the 
people of the port had rowed out to her that they learned her 
tale. The " Pinta," for such she was in veritable hemp and 
timber, had weathered the terrible storm of the 14th of Feb- 
ruary ; but on seeing no trace of the " Niiia," Martin Alonzo 
had concluded that his sister ship was lost. After excessive 
toil and peril, he had made the port of BaJ^onne in France, 
and having there refitted, had sailed direct for Palos. The 
" Pinta's " crew were as much amazed to find the " Nina " 
floating quietly at anchor in the Tinto as were their friends 
on shore to see the missing ship ; for no one on the " Pinta " 
had doubted that their companions on the other vessel were 
long since beneath the waves. So much of their story the 



322 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

crew told now. Their captain, Martin Alonzo, was sorely 
ill, they said ; and it was he who had been landed in the 
cove, the better to go direct to his home, and thus avoid 
the agitation and confusion of passing through the town. 

Such tidings were not long in reaching the Admiral. When 
he heard of the " Pinta's " arrival, he sent for her officers 
and inquired the exact particulars of their separate cruise. 
They repeated what they had told the first inquirers, but 
added sundry important details. On the very day that they 
had anchored at Bayonne a ship entered the harbor coming 
from Flanders, on which by a strange coincidence was Arias 
Perez Pinzon, the oldest son of their captain, who joined his 
father as soon as he learned that the " Pinta " was so near.^ 
After this, the men continued, Martin Alonzo had de- 
spatched a courier across the Pyrenees to bear to the Spanish 
sovereigns the tidings of his safe arrival and his wonderful 
discovery of the Golden Indies, and to announce to their 
Majesties that he would sail thence directly for Palos and 
hasten to lay before them a report of his voyage, and of 
the lamentable fate which had befallen the Admiral and his 
companions. From Bayonne they had made their way to 
Palos ; and when Martin Alonzo had found the " Niiia " 
safe in port before him, he had ordered out his boat, been 
rowed ashore with his son, and gone to his home in the 
manner already related. As Colon heard this story, his face 
grew sterner than was his wont ; but he gave no other sign 
of the wrath which was consuming him. He treated the 
" Pinta's " men and their vessel precisely as he had the 
** Nina " and her crew, and set them to work putting their 
affairs in order. As for Martin Alonzo, the Admiral would 
bide his time. Palos was the home of the Pinzons, and 
their voices would be heard before his by most ears. Ere- 

1 This singular fact is reported by the younger Pinzon and other 
witnesses in the great lawsuit, and seems to be beyond dispute. We 
surmise that it furnishes the basis on which the story has been built 
as to the " Pinta" coming into Palos on the very day of Colon's ar- 
rival. Herrera first gave currency to the attractive fable, and has 
been followed by many later historians ; but we find no trace of any 
such occurrence other than the coincidence mentioned above. 



HIGH NOON AND THE TIDE AT FLOOD. 323 

long he should be able to tell his story where it would be 
hearkened to to some purpose. With this resolution, the 
Admiral continued his preparations for setting out to Barce- 
lona. Martin Alonzo himself avoided all contact with his 
chief; and by degrees the report gathered strength that 
the Spanish captain had been unjustly treated, and that to 
the Palos seamen, and not to the Italian navigator, was due 
the greater credit for what had been accomplished. Colon 
held his peace ; and few even of the townspeople paid any 
heed to the whispers. It was enough for them just now that 
the sea had given up its dead, and that of all who had sailed 
on that wild and desperate adventure, neither man nor boy 
from Palos or its neighborhood was missing. 

It was nearly a fortnight before the Admiral could start 
upon his journey overland to Barcelona. From the mo- 
ment he left the little seaport until that of his triumphant 
reception by his grateful sovereigns and their obsequious 
Court his progress was one continued series of enthusiastic 
acclamations. In order to enhance the popular estimate of 
the importance of his discovery and establish at the outset 
a realizing conception of its truly Oriental splendor, he took 
with him an extensive retinue, consisting of his pilots and 
principal seamen, the Indian interpreters as a matter of 
course, and a long train of pack-mules laden with the varied 
spoils of his pacific campaign. As he passed, in easy stages, 
along the highway leading through the plains of Andalusia 
and the mountains of Granada, the shepherds left their 
flocks, the vinedressers their vineyards, the peasants their 
fields, and one and all — men, women, and children — 
thronged to see the wonderful beings from another world 
and the brown-faced mariners who had crossed the West- 
ern Ocean under the guidance of that blue-eyed leader 
riding in stately dignity at their head. The Admiral was 
ever somewhat given to proper pomp and circumstance, as 
we have seen ; and when his route lay through any town of 
sufficient importance, he caused his Indians to don their 
ornaments of gold and feathered plumes, and bear their 
fragile weapons in their hands ; while his own more sturdy 



324 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

people displayed some of the impressive trophies of his vic- 
tory over the ignorance and superstition of his age. Wher- 
ever they halted there were compliments and flattery to be 
received from supple dignitaries, and the wondering curiosity 
of lord and hind alike to be satisfied by the recital of the 
incidents of the voyage and an exhibition of the golden 
masks and strange animals from the distant regions beyond 
the sea. The rumor of their advent preceded the slowly 
moving train, and the villages off the line of march were 
emptied, says an eyewitness ; such was the eagerness of the 
people to behold this astonishing display. 

On the 31st of March the notable procession entered the 
famous city of Seville. The day was Palm Sunday, — one 
dedicated by the populace of all Catholic countries to fes- 
tivity and gladness, — and the town was already in holiday 
attire ; but the arrival of Colon and his companions increased 
by a thousand fold the interest of the festival, and made it 
memorable in the annals of even that historic capital. He 
was met by the principal cavaliers and officials without the 
gates, and accompanied by them as an escort of honor to 
the lodgings " next to the arch which is called * of the 
Images ' at San Nieblas," which had been secured for him 
and his cortege. The streets were thronged to impas- 
sability with sightseers, while every window framed a group 
of eager faces. From balcony and window-sill hung gayly 
colored tapestries ; and at short intervals, stretched from 
house to house, festoons of banners fluttered in the breeze. 
As the Admiral paced slowly up the leaf-strewn street, accom- 
panied by his honorable retinue and followed by the groups 
of bronzed sailors and dusky savages, every neck was craned 
to catch a glimpse of the man who had been — where? and 
done — what? Few in the great concourse gazing at him 
as something more than human could have told. Perhaps it 
was better so ; for as their ignorance of the world they lived 
in was complete, so much the greater was their amazement 
and credulity at the sight of so much they had never heard or 
dreamed of. We, who live in the continent which Colon dis- 
covered, — and know so much more about it than he, — 



HIGH NOON AND THE TIDE AT FLOOD. 325 

have sometimes been invited to consider him a person 
of very ordinary attainments. 

Loud as were the plaudits of the good people of Seville, 
and welcome as was the tribute of their undisguised wonder- 
ment, a far more momentous triumph awaited the Admiral 
here. A few days after his arrival and while he was yet re- 
ceiving the attentions of the learned and the powerful, of 
priest and layman, a courier arrived from Barcelona and 
delivered to him a packet sealed with the royal cipher. On 
its face was the superscription : " From the King and the 
Queen. To Don Crist6val Colon, Their Admiral of the 
Ocean Sea and Viceroy and Governor of the Islands discov- 
ered in the Indies." At last his success was indeed com- 
plete ! Their Majesties had made good their pledges, and 
now greeted him by the titles he had won at the cost of such 
years and years of patient faith and hard endurance. 

The royal missive ran : — 

"We have read your letters, and had great delight in learning 
what in them you have written to Us, and that God has vouch- 
safed you so happy an ending to your labors and directed favor- 
ably what you began, in which both He shall be so greatly 
glorified and Ourselves and Our Kingdoms shall receive so 
much advantage. If God pleases, besides what you have done 
in this matter for His service you shall receive from Us many 
favors which, you may be assured, shall be such as your trials 
and labors deserve. And because We desire that what you have 
begun, with God's help, may be continued and carried further, 
We wish that your coming hither should not be delayed. There- 
fore, for Our better service. We desire that you make the utmost 
haste you can in your journey, and in good time all shall be 
arranged as may be necessary. As you know, the Summer is 
already commenced, and in order that the season for returning 
to those regions shall not elapse, see whether you can do anything 
in Seville, or the other places you may visit, to advance your re- 
turn to the countries you have discovered, and write to Us imme- 
diately by this same messenger, who has orders to return at once. 
Thus whatever is to be done can be provided for while you are 
on your way hither and stopping here, in such manner that when 
you leave here everything may be ready. 

"Done at Barcelona, the 30th day of March, ninety three. 

" I, The King. I, The Queen." 



326 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

It had taken the Spanish sovereigns nearly seven years to 
give their consent to the first voyage ; but on learning of its 
result it took them less than as many days to determine on 
a second one. The Admiral saw no inconsistency in this 
frantic haste. His own most earnest wish was to return as 
quickly as possible to the beautiful regions in the Western 
Ocean and complete his work by finding the mainland of 
Cathay, and opening up the dominions of the Great Khan 
to Spanish commerce and the Christian religion. The letter 
of their Majesties was, therefore, a source of keenest gratifi- 
cation to him, assuring as it did their hearty co-operation 
in the preparation and despatch of his second expedition. 
Hence he exerted himself diligently to set out from Seville 
as soon as possible, and continued his journey to Barcelona 
in the early days of April. 

Owing to the distance between the two cities and the slow 
rate at which he was obliged to travel, it was not until to- 
wards the end of the month that the Admiral reached the 
royal Court. Here he was welcomed by a great gather- 
ing of the attendants upon their Majesties, bent upon con- 
veniently forgetting their former treatment of the " Genoese 
adventurer." To all alike he showed himself as oblivious 
as themselves of the awkward past ; but it was only in the 
society of his tried and proven friends, Fray Diego de 
Deza, Luiz de Santangel, Alonzo de Quintanilla, and the 
few others who, like these, had been steadfast in their 
support when friendship cost an effort and was of corre- 
sponding value, that he threw off his reserve and spoke 
freely of his work already done and that which remained 
for him to do. 

He had barely entered the city when he received a 
summons to repair at once to the royal presence. Enter- 
ing the audience-chamber, which was filled with the glit- 
tering array of grandees and courtiers, soldiers and 
prelates, which formed the brilliant Court of Spain, the 
Admiral advanced, we are told, " with the air of a Senator 
of Rome," through this resplendent company intending to 
beg permission to kiss the royal hands. Then occurred a 
miracle as startling and notable as any he had so devoutly 



HIGH NOON AND THE 

noted in all the history of that eventful undertaking. As 
he bowed low before the dais whereon were set the equal 
thrones of Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen rose 
from their thrones and stood to receive their Admiral ! The 
proudest and most ceremonious of Christian monarchs of- 
fered princely honors to the man to whom for seven years 
they had doled out a few ducats at a time, and who had 
served as a laughing-stock for many a one of the bewildered 
courtiers who were now watching in open-eyed amazement 
this unheard-of mark of condescension. Extending their 
hands for his dutiful salute, the king raised the Admiral from 
his kneeling posture and, directing a stool of ceremony to 
be brought, bade him be seated, — a mark of honor seldom 
shown even to the most eminent nobles. Both king and 
queen then plied him with mingled thanks, congratulations, 
and inquiries, with a frank absence of all formality which 
plainly showed their extreme interest both in the man him- 
self and in the mighty work he had performed. 

After that the sequel was foreordained. The Te Demns 
in the chapel royal ; the honors heaped upon the ex-adven- 
turer and present hero ; the vast excitement and enthusiasm 
which spread through the circles of the Court at the sight of 
the raw gold, rare drugs, strange fruits, and other evidences 
of the abounding wealth and fertility of the new lands, — all 
these were matters of course in comparison with that first act 
of crowning condescension. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isa- 
bella of Castile had risen to receive Crist6val Colon ! The 
cranium of the average Spanish courtier in the year of Grace 
fourteen hundred and ninety-three could not hold any other 
impression while that phenomenon filled his mind. Acting 
on the unmistakable example set them by their kings, with 
one accord the ready placemen vied with one another in 
heaping honors upon the great discoverer whom they them- 
selves had just discovered ; but the greater nobles — the 
grandees proper — still held haughtily aloof from other 
than formal intercourse with the parvenu thus suddenly 
thrust upon them. Yet it was from that one of their Order, 
so pre-eminently high in rank and powerful in authority that 
he was called " the third king," that the nobility of Castile 



328 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

learned that Genius, as well as Death and Misery, ignores all 
factitious distinctions. One day, soon after Colon's arrival 
at the Court, as Pedro de Mendoza, Grand Cardinal of Spain, 
was leaving the palace, he encountered the Admiral and asked 
him to dine. At his kindly solicitation Colon went with the 
Cardinal to the archiepiscopal palace, where scarcely less 
state was maintained than in the royal saloons proper. The 
Cardinal placed his guest in the seat of honor next himself, 
ordered that the dishes should be served to him covered, 
and saluted him with the salva, or greeting of ceremony, as 
the person of greatest distinction present. "Thereafter," 
we are dryly informed, " the Admiral was always served with 
covered dishes, and treated with the consideration and for- 
mality befitting his high rank." To him it was all one, now 
that his work had been passed upon by those he had served 
so faithfully. In the past he had been neglected because he 
was not great ] now he was great because he was not neg- 
lected. That was all. 

He made no mistake as to the value of this sudden 
homage. Both his faith in Providence and his distrust of 
the Court remained unchanged until his dying day, and the 
one was as abundantly justified by subsequent events as the 
other had been by those precedent. He wrote, in closing 
his diary : — 

" This voyage has marvellously shown to me that without 
God's will it is vain to plan or attempt anything, and this can be 
plainly seen both in this record from the many singular mira- 
cles which He has done and from my own life, who so long a 
time was at your Highnesses' Court combating the opposition 
and disfavor of so many of the principal persons of your house- 
hold; all of whom set themselves against me, saying that this 
deed, which now is done, was but a piece of folly. And yet I 
believe that, with the blessing of our Lord, it shall nevertheless 
prove the greatest glory that has thus far ever been vouchsafed." 

"These are the final words," certifies Las Casas of the 
quotation just made, " of the Admiral Don Crist6val Colon 
concerning his first voyage to the Indies and to the dis- 
covery thereof." 



XXVI. 
AFTERWARD. 

THE Admiral remained at Barcelona until the 30th of 
^. May. What with the settlement of his accounts, the 
col^pletion of his records and charts, and the preparations 
for the return to Hispaniola, both days and nights were con- 
sumed in constant labor. Scarcely a day passed that he 
was not at the palace in close consultation with the sov- 
ereigns. Ferdinand and Isabella had thrown themselves 
with extraordinary ardor into all his plans ; it was enough 
for him to propose a measure, and instantly a decree was 
issued for its accomplishment. The second expedition was 
to consist of a score of vessels. Twelve hundred men were 
to be under the Admiral's orders, including all the best sea- 
men of the kingdom. In this number were also men-at- 
arms, both foot and horse, a large party of civil officers and 
adjutants, a detachment of miners, another of artisans and 
agricultural laborers, and a dozen priests. Nothing was to 
be left undone to provide for the colonization and proper 
government of the lands already discovered, and hasten the 
exploration of the remaining coasts and islands of the Indies. 
Horses, cattle, and seeds were to be taken in ample quanti- 
ties to secure their establishment on the fertile soil of the 
western world, and immense stores of provisions and ammu- 
nition for the supply of the colonies to be planted and the 
expeditions to be conducted throughout the newly opened 
regions. Who spoke now of excessive cost or doubtful 
returns? The treasurers of the Crown were directed to pay 



330 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

the ^expenses of the armament without stint ; for were not 
one half of the ships to unload on reaching Hispaniola and 
be freighted with the gold and spices, the rhubarb, cinna- 
mon, aloes, dyewoods, cotton, and pungent peppers accumu- 
lated, in their leader's absence, by the industrious garrison 
left behind at Navidad ? I'here was no cause in this case 
for reading of harsh orders in parish churches, and holding 
village authorities responsible for the enlistment of unwilling 
men. Rather the difficulty was to choose from the multi- 
tude of applicants who — men of birth and rank and those 
with neither — jostled one another in their efforts to gain 
the Admiral's favor and be elected by him to join the new 
crusade. Where he had made one enemy before by having 
to seize on ships and impress men, he made ten now by 
having to refuse the offers of those who volunteered. Don 
Crist6val Colon, Admiral of the Ocean Sea and Viceroy of 
the Indies, was a power in those days. 

Nor was a merely local fame his only reward. Both from 
Lisbon and from Seville the news had spread through Eu- 
rope that the Spanish navigator had broken the bonds of 
Ocean, as Seneca had prophesied m Nero's time, and found 
that the western sea was no longer the Sea of Darkness, but 
the highway to an unknown world (presumably Asia) teeming 
with wealth and riches. Bartholom^ Colon, the Admiral's 
brother, had long been in England, soliciting the same aid 
from Henry VII. which the Admiral himself had for so many 
years sought in vain from Ferdinand and Isabella. He had 
not learned of his brother's final success or of his departure 
on his voyage of discovery ; but now, himself successful in 
his application, as he hastened to Spain to communicate to 
Crist6val the welcome news that the English Crown would 
furnish the means for their projected enterprise, he heard 
with astonishment on reaching Paris that his brother had 
sailed, had found the world he looked for, and was again at 
the Spanish Court, — a famous and renowned man. The 
pens of the men of learning in Spain and Portugal published 
the great achievement far and wide. " Columbus has re- 
turned from the western antipodes," wrote one. " He brings 



AFTERWARD. 33 1 

gold and cotton, dyewoods, and pepper keener than that of 
Asia. He followed the sun's course for more than a thou- 
sand leagues, and discovered six islands, of which the largest 
exceeds all Spain in size." " Christopher Columbus has 
reached Lisbon," wrote another, " from the voyage he made 
for the sovereigns of Castile to the islands of Cipango and 
Antilia. He brings with him some of the people of those 
countries and specimens of the gold and other productions, 
and has been made Admiral of those seas." It was not 
long after his arrival at Barcelona when a garbled version 
of one of his letters relating his discovery was printed at 
Rome in Latin, and circulated widely through the civilized 
world ; and it is worth remarking that a copy of this famous 
product of the early press will now bring in the hemisphere 
discovered by its author a sum equal to one third of the 
total cost of finding the western world. 

But what must have been the praise of sweetest savor to 
the pious mind of the Admiral was that the Holy Father him- 
self — that Alexander the Sixth, who to us is best known as 
a Borgia worthy of the name, but who to Colon was Head of 
the Church and Vicar of Christ on earth — proclaimed 
throughout Christendom his apostolic approbation of Colon's 
work. " Our beloved son Christopher Columbus," so ran 
the words of the successor of Saint Peter, " a man fit and well 
chosen for so great an undertaking, and worthy to be held 
in high honor, has with ships and people suitable for the 
purpose, but not without enormous labors, cost, and dangers, 
sought by the Ocean those continents and islands which have 
hitherto been remote and unknown, and, where no man had 
before navigated, has, by Divine favor, found them after 
much sacrifice. In the which lands, according to the re- 
ports, live many nations who dwell together in peace and 
go naked and know not how to eat meat." The Bull in 
which the Pope thus dilated upon the merits and deeds of 
the Admiral was dated at Rome on May the second, only 
six weeks after the "Niiia's" arrival at Palos, and is an in- 
teresting evidence of the quickness with which the Spanish 
Crown grasped the vast importance of the outcome of the 



332 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

enterprise to which they had so tardily given an insufficient 
support. No sooner had Ferdinand received the first an- 
nouncement from the Admiral than he despatched an envoy 
post haste to the Vatican to secure from his Holiness — 
as presumable guardian for the Almighty of all the earth's 
surface not already appropriated by alleged followers of the 
Cross — a pontifical decree awarding to Spain whatever ter- 
ritories might lie on the other side of the Atlantic. For 
value received (for the waters were rough around the Fisher- 
man's craft just then), the Servant of the Servants of God 
agreed to do this ; and this singular Bull, in which he handed 
over to the sovereigns of Castile a third of the habitable 
globe, was the result. What is still more strange is that 
although neither Pope nor monarch had any more title to 
these countries — of whose very existence they knew nothing 
— than the author has to the reader's watch, this award of 
a mighty continent was acquiesced in and respected for 
centuries by the obsequious potentates most interested in 
foiling one another's plans. The same princes were wont 
to gird at one another over the flimsiest trifles, and would 
cheerfully ruin every subject in their kingdoms in a war 
about the ownership of half-a-dozen hovels anywhere in 
Europe ; but they did not dispute the Vatican's power to 
do as it pleased with what had no owners whom anybody 
feared.^ 

Besides the renown to which he was so pre-eminently 
entitled, the Admiral received from Ferdinand and Isabella 
many substantial proofs of their consideration and gratitude. 
Letters- patent were issued confirming to him and to his 
heirs the dignities and emoluments which had been granted 
the previous year on condition of his finding the lands 
beyond the sea. Another royal decree gave him a new and 
honorable coat of arms symbolical of the great enterprise he 

1 If there is a limbo where departed heathen foregather, there must 
have been some interesting exchanges of experience in late years be- 
tween the shades of the aboriginal Americans and those who arrived 
more recently from equatorial Africa. The ghostly representatives of 
each savage race must have been puzzled to hear the others explain 
how they got there in the cause of Christianity ! 



AFTERWARD. 333 

had so successfully concluded.^ Others still allowed him to 
appoint the officials and authorities for the government of 
the Indies ; permitted him the use of the royal seal and the 
right to employ the royal names in his proclamations and 
laws ; and prohibited any voyage to or traffic with the newly 
opened regions except by his special permission or that of 
the Crown. In addition to decreeing that whenever he 
should travel he and his retinue should be served at the cost 
of the royal treasury, the sovereigns also settled upon the 
Admiral the pension of ten thousand maravedies for first 
seeing land, which has already been mentioned, and ordered 
their treasurer to pay him in one sum a merced, or bounty, 
of three hundred and seventy-five thousand maravedies. 
This latter amount was equal to one fourth of the whole 
outlay on the first voyage, and, though we have been able 
to find no record of its disposition by Colon, it is probable 
that it was solicited and used for the repayment of the funds 
advanced by the Pinzons when the million of maravedies 
furnished by the Crown proved insufficient for the equipment 
of the expedition. 

So urgent was the haste and so energetic the measures 
adopted for the despatch of the second fleet, that within 
six months after the solitary "Niiia" crossed the bar of 
Saltes the imposing array of crowded vessels was ready to 
sail. Throughout this period there had been a constant 
fencing with the Portuguese king, who endeavored to im- 
pede by all available means the departure of the Spanish 
armament. The Court itself was so filled with unfaithful 
servants retained as spies by Portuguese bribes, that Queen 
Isabella was obliged to excuse herself to the Admiral for 
retaining so long the diary he had left with her Majesty to 
be copied, " because it had to be written in secret, so that 

^ These were granted on May 20, 1493. They were : in the upper 
right-hand field a golden castle on a green ground ; beneath it a group 
of golden islands in a blue sea; in the upper left-hand field a purple 
lion on a white ground ; beneath it Colon's own arms, five golden 
anchors on a blue ground. " There are not many handsomer es- 
cutcheons in all Spain," remarks Las Casas, with a complacency which 
does honor to his friendship for the great sailor. 



334 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

those of Portugal who are here, or any one else, should not 
know its contents. For this reason," she added, "and to 
finish it the more quickly, it has been copied by two per- 
sons, as you will perceive." Notwithstanding all these 
intrigues and the peculiarly dilatory methods of Castilian 
administration, the preparations were completed and the 
ships all ready within the comparatively short time named. 
On the 25th of September the Admiral went on board his 
flagship, the " Maria Galante," in the port of Cadiz, and at 
the head of the seventeen vessels which composed his fleet 
stood out to sea bound for Hispaniola. He had been just six 
months and ten days in Spain, and in that time attained the 
very summit of such power and glory as the world had to offer 
to one not to the purple born. Ere next he saw the shores 
of Andalusia he was to know how hard it is to maintain one- 
self at so giddy an elevation above the dead level of envy 
and detraction which the mass of weak humanity maintains. 

With the events of this second cruise we have not here 
to deal. It is grateful to leave the high-souled, hopeful, 
and intrepid sailor pursuing an even course in the van of so 
worthy an armada toward the new world he had found, 
while the older lands he was hourly leaving more distant 
still resounded with the fame of his great deeds. 

Of the companions of his first adventurous journey, there is 
both good and evil to be told. The letter sent to the Spanish 
sovereigns by Martin Alonzo from Bayonne, unfortunately 
for him, reached their Majesties after they had received the 
Admiral's announcement of his own arrival. They thereupon 
sent a brief reply to the " Pinta's " captain, saying that as 
the Admiral was in command of the expedition, they could 
only receive Martin Alonzo when presented by his leader, 
— a blow which so aggravated the mortification of the un- 
happy man that he died at his home in Palos while Colon 
was making his triumphal progress to Barcelona. Vicente 
Yaiiez, as we have seen, became a mighty man of the sea, 
and lived to a green old age, distinguished by many marks 
of his sovereign's favor, and contributing some of the most 
brilliant pages to the glorious history of Spanish navigation. 



AFTERWARD. 335 

Arias Perez, Martin Alonzo's son, lived for thirty years after 
his father's death, ever keen to beUttle the Admiral's fame 
and to claim for his own house the chief glory of discover- 
ing the Indies. We find some light thrown on his character 
by a petition he made to the king and queen in 1500, com- 
plaining that since his father's death his four brothers had 
left their weak-minded sister on his hands to take care of; 
" the which," he pathetically remarks, " causes me great 
annoyance and trouble." The good father superior. Fray 
Juan Antonio Perez, of Marchena, was called upon to mourn 
the loss of the nephew he had sent with the Admiral on the 
latter's first voyage, but lived to the close of a long life of 
honor and usefulness. We would gladly know more of this 
attractive personality, but the records are silent regarding 
him. Scanty as is our knowledge, his name should be 
printed in larger letters than hitherto in the history of the 
hemisphere he helped so effectively to find. Garcia Fer- 
nandez was also a man of many years when he died ; for, 
twenty-five years after the memorable conference in the 
convent of La Rabida, he did yeoman's service in breaking 
down the attempt of the Pinzons to cloud the dead Ad- 
miral's fame. He also had yielded meantime to the impulse 
of his heart, and gone to visit the marvellous countries his 
friend had found ; and it is in his report, as royal notary on 
the spot, that we read of the first discovery of Brazil and 
the Amazon in 1499. Juan Rodriguez Cabezudo was a pretty 
old man in 1513 ; but he came down to the royal commis- 
sion when they were taking testimony as to whom belonged 
the credit of finding the lands beyond the sea, and gave his 
evidence in behalf of his dead " Master." Stiff-necked as 
ever, he swore to all that occurred at the time of Colon's 
first coming to La Rabida, and laid no little stress on his 
having loaned his mule to the great navigator when he 
wanted her for his Reverence the Father Superior. " And 
I know," he insisted on saying in his own stubborn way, 
"that the Admiral set out from this town of Palos in ninety- 
two to discover the Indies, and returned to this same port, 
safe and sound, after finding them ; because the Senor Ad- 



S^6 IVITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

miral himself told me he had found many islands in the 
Indies, and showed me six or seven Indians he had brought 
from there, and pieces of gold and golden masks ; for he said 
that there was a plenty of gold there. And many others 
heard him besides myself," he concluded, with a hit at 
some of the hard swearers of the Pinzon connection. The 
old seaman's quondam charge, Diego Colon, accompanied 
his father on his second voyage, and assisted him ably until 
the Admiral's death. He then engaged in the long strug- 
gle with the Spanish Crown for the dignities and profits to 
which he was entitled as his father's heir, and after a con- 
test worthy of the elder Colon's persevering courage, won 
the recognition of his claim, and became Viceroy over all 
the lands discovered by the Admiral. Diego Prieto, of ob- 
structive memory, appears to have continued in his efforts 
to carry water on both shoulders, for we find him in after 
years condemned for stealing one of the Indian captives 
brought back to Spain by his kinsman, Vicente Yaiiez, from 
one of his western voyages. 

Of the pilots and seamen who had shared in the finding of 
Guanahani, many attained to their full share of the glory at- 
tendant upon the exploit. Several of the former accom- 
panied the Admiral on his subsequent expeditions; while 
others undertook voyages of their o\vn in search of terra 
firma, or of a shorter route to the famed Cathay that still 
remained so far. Many of the sailors became pilots in turn, 
and guided other ships through the waters of the Caribbean 
Sea and the Sinus Mexicanus up to the times of Cortes and 
Pizarro. Others we find, plain seamen yet, sailing with 
Ferdinand de Magellanes on his immortal cruise around 
the world. Before the days of newspapers it was no such 
mighty thing, apparently, for a man to take part in the dis- 
covery of the western world and afterward join the ships 
which circled the whole globe for the first time. At least 
we find no special mention made of these doughty Juans 
and Antonios in the history of their times, and only know 
of their adventures from the incidental mention of their 
names in ship-list or the roll of dead. The Indians who 



AFTERWARD. 



337 



arrived in Spain on the " Niiia" and the " Pinta " were all 
baptized, with Ferdinand and Isabella as their sponsors. 
After that they died off rapidly, and went to the Christians' 
heaven, no doubt. One only reached his native shores again, 
to delude his unsophisticated countrymen into trusting their 
bearded visitors. We have alluded already to the fate of the 
devoted men left to garrison the fort at Navidad. Neither 
governor nor tailor, Irishman nor Basque, lived to tell the 
tale of how the rest had met their death in that ill-fated 
outpost of an unworthy civilization. If what Guacanagari 
and his people related to the Admiral when he landed to 
visit the ruined settlement was true, even Charity herself 
cannot deny that they deserved their doom. 

As for the Admiral himself, we can best read his charac- 
ter from his own words, penned from day to day amid the 
trials of his outward voyage and the triumphs of his first 
hours of success ; on the summer seas of the long-sought 
Indies and the boisterous waters of the Atlantic at its wild- 
est ; among the exquisite delights of those noble scenes he 
opened to the enjoyment of his fellow-men, and in the hur- 
ried confusion of sudden shipwreck. Whether dealing with 
a nameless savage or measuring phrases with Portugal's King, 
whether writing his report to his distant sovereigns or chat- 
ting with his men over their strange surroundings, we find 
him ever the same, — direct, simple-minded, trustful, fear- 
less. If he, a man of the people, had what we (who have 
none such !) call the vices of his times, he also possessed vir- 
tues which seem to have grown rarer as time has passed. He 
was loyal to his friends, over-generous to his foes, and what 
he promised he performed. Among other thmgs, he pledged 
himself to prove that there was another side to the world, 
and he did it. His minor inconsistencies might be set aside 
in view of that performance. In after years he met with 
bitter disappointment, rank ingratitude, and unmerited in- 
dignities; but in this he was not wholly a martyr. A 
matchless seaman and intrepid explorer, he gave at no 
time any evidence of superior executive talent. In under- 
taking to colonize and govern the territories he discovered, 



338 IVIT/I THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

while continuing at the same time his more remote investi- 
gations, he was attempting a task far beyond his powers, — 
perhaps beyond those of any one man, considering the 
instruments then available. The misconstructions and dis- 
putes which arose naturally enough with a jealous Crown, 
when we consider the vast and undefined nature of the 
authority intrusted to him, were fanned and distorted by 
the active efforts of envious and malicious courtiers. That 
he suffered gross injustice is beyond dispute ; that it was 
intentional and foreplanned by either Isabella or Ferdinand, 
we do not believe. The absent were ever wrong, and the 
great Admiral was no exception to the ancient rule. A 
Governor and Viceroy for the Spanish Crown, with one 
breath he held out hopes of obtaining untold riches, and 
with the next talked of seeking the earthly Paradise with 
three or four teredo-eaten ships. In one letter he proposed 
to find tons upon tons of virgin gold, and soon after had to 
report that his own followers would not allow him access 
to the mines. It is not strange that his sovereigns should 
have found it necessary to establish a stronger and more 
systematic government than his in the immense dominions 
the Admiral had brought under their control. That they 
pursued a considerate or magnanimous course in providing 
this, no one will affirm ; but they hastened to make him 
ample amends for the severity of their servants as soon as 
they knew the outrages inflicted on the man they seemed 
sincerely delighted to honor. The Admiral's claims were 
somewhat of the broadest, and that they were not immedi- 
ately liquidated is not to be wholly wondered at. That he 
died in poverty and distress is not to be credited, unless we 
mean by " poverty " that he did not die possessed of the 
fabulous wealth he looked for from the Indies, — not for his 
own aggrandizement, be it ever borne in mind. The alter- 
cations between himself and the fiscal officers of the Crown 
regarding his portion in the products of his discoveries are 
by no means all one-sided ; and while it cannot be denied 
that influential enemies threw every obstacle in his way, his 
impetuous temperament and quick sensibilities often inter- 



AFTERWARD. 339 

preted as intentional indifference what may well have been 
only the needful caution of sluggard officials in dealing with 
unauthenticated demands. The Admiral himself was not 
remarkable for financial method. We find repeated in- 
stances in the formal records of those years of gifts and 
bounties to the great explorer ; of the constant payment of 
considerable pensions to his sons and brothers, and of large 
sums due by him as his contribution to the " eighth " ex- 
cused and released by the Crown. We think it wholly prob- 
able that had an exact balance been struck between the 
expenses paid by Spain for all her ventures concerning the 
Indies and the actual money value of the gold and other 
products received during Colon's lifetime, there would 
have been but little for him to collect his share upon. In 
his own will, written on his death -bed, he admits that the 
Indies had thus far furnished no revenue commensurate 
with the outlays made ; and he disposes, in advance, of the 
great sums he expected the future to produce. Tnie, he 
ascribes the absence of such returns to the mismanagement 
of others, and there was much force in his contention ; but 
we must remember that the Indies were " golden " to him 
until his latest breath, and he failed to recognize the amount 
of time and systematic toil required to derive a fixed and 
adequate income from a region thinly populated by savages, 
however fertile and abundant it was in valuable products. 
In saying, in the last year of his life, that he " had not a 
roof he could call his own," and that he " lived on borrowed 
money." we do not assume that he was in absolute penury. 
His expenses were necessarily large to sustain the dignity he 
thought was becoming ; but he found no difficulty in secur- 
ing whatever funds he required, pending remittances from 
Hispaniola. His grievances, indeed, — real though they 
undoubtedly were, — seem rather the wounds done to a 
proud and sensitive spirit, than any actual hardships suffered 
in the flesh. He had his full share of the latter in the 
course of his adventurous life ; but of these he makes little 
moan. We do not intimate that the services of their Ad- 
miral were open to commercial valuation by the sovereigns 



340 WITH THE ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA. 

of Spain, or that they themselves so believed ; but this aspect 
of his relations to the Crown was unavoidable, and much of 
his correspondence turns upon the fulfilment of the contracts 
made with him. So long as Queen Isabella was alive, we 
find both her and the king dealing generously with the 
claims advanced by Colon. Unfortunately for the latter, 
his royal benefactress died just as he arrived in Spain from 
his last and most disastrous voyage, and the surviving mon- 
arch cared not to be worried with the importunities of one 
of his officers, even if that officer was of all the most dis- 
tinguished. Ferdinand had other irons in the forge much 
nearer to his hand than the farther side of the Ocean Sea. 
Like a prudent king, he had abundant control of the senti- 
mental side of his nature, and so he deferred the consider- 
ation of Colon's petitions to a more convenient season. 
" Ferdinand enters into an enterprise with enthusiasm, and 
concludes as chance or necessity dictates ; nor has he hith- 
erto had reason to complain either of Fortune or his resolu- 
tions." Such was the opinion of a man who knew him well, 
— one Niccolo Machiavelli, of undeservedly mal-odorous 
renown. In Colon's case the king simply followed the dic- 
tates of his nature. By the time he was prepared to give heed 
to his Admiral's representations, Crist6val Colon had said his 
/;; manus tuas, and been gathered to his obscure fathers. 

Whatever were his mistakes and short-comings. Colon 
was neither a visionary nor an imbecile. Had he been per- 
fect in all things and wise to the point of infallibility, we 
could not have claimed him as the glorious credit he was to 
the common humanity to which we all belong. His great- 
ness was sufficient to cover with its mantle far more of the 
weaknesses of frail mortality than he had to draw under its 
protection ; and it becomes us who attempt to analyze his life 
in these later days, to bear in mind that, had his lot befallen 
ourselves, the natives of the western world would still, be- 
yond a peradventure, be wandering in undraped peace 
through their tangled woods, and remain forever ignorant of 
the art of eating meat. In his trials and distresses the Ad- 
miral encountered only the portion of the sons of Adam ; 



AFTERWARD. 34 1 

but to him was also given, as to few before or since, to say, 
with the nameless shepherd of Tempe's classic vale, " I, too, 
have lived in Arcady." 

Colon did not merely discover the New World. He 
spent seven years and one month among the islands and 
on the coasts of the hemisphere now called after the ship- 
chandler who helped to outfit his later expeditions. For 
the greater part of that time he was under the constant 
burden of knowing that venomous intrigue and misrepre- 
sentation were doing their deadly work at home while he 
did what he believed was his Heaven-imposed duty on this 
side the Atlantic. He persisted in the one, but he would 
not remain silent under the other. What he wrote to one 
of his steadfast friends as he was returning in chains from 
the new world he had given to Spain, has a peculiar appo- 
siteness, now that his name and deeds are on all men's 
tongues : — 

" In Spain I am being judged as though I were a Governor 
who had gone to Sicily, or to some city or town which is under 
an established authority, and where the laws can be enforced in 
their integrity, without fear of losing all ; and in this I receive a 
grievous wrong. 

" I ought to be judged as a Captain who has come from Spain 
to the Indies to make a conquest of a warlike and numerous 
people, whose habits and faith were wholly different from ours ; 
a people who live among the mountains and forests, and who 
have no fixed habitations, as our own men can have none. 
There, by the Divine favor, I have placed another world under 
the dominion of the King and Queen, our sovereigns, whereby 
Spain, which was before called poor, has now become the richest 
of all the nations." 

His appeal should not go unheeded. Humanity at large, 
as well as the Spain he served so faithfully, was infinitely 
enriched by the labors and sacrifices of this Genoese Admiral 
of Castile, and by his deeds should Humanity judge him. 
Not Caesar only is entitled to his due. 



APPENDIX. 



NOTE A. 

THE BIRTHPLACE OF COLUMBUS. 

MUCH controversy has waged concerning the place of Co- 
lumbus's nativity. It has been variously assigned to the 
city of Genoa; to several of the lesser towns in the ancient re- 
public of that name ; to Florence, Corsica, and even to England. 
But the declarations made by Columbus himself in the course 
of his writing should, it seems to us, leave no ground for 
reasonable dispute, and fix the city of Genoa itself as the spot 
where he first saw the light. 

In the deed of entail, or testament as it is more commonly 
called, executed by the Admiral in Seville on Thursday, Feb. 
22, 1498, and confirmed by his sovereigns in their decree of Sept. 
28, 1 501, he specifically says that, ^' being born in Genoa, I came 
to serve their Majesties here in Castile," etc. Later on, in the 
same document, he directs that some one of his lineage shall 
always be maintained in becoming state in that city, "as though 
a native thereof, . . . since from it I started out, and in it I was 
bornP 

Moreover, during his lifetime it is evident that no doubt 
existed that Genoa was the birthplace of the great navigator. 
Not only do his contemporaries — his friend Las Casas, his son 
Ferdinand, Sebastian Cabot (whom some would call his rival), the 
curate of Los Palacios, Peter Martyr, and others — refer to him 
consistently as " the Genoese," but the Government of Genoa, in 
the persons of the famous magistracy of St. George, emphati- 
cally confirm the truth of the general supposition. In acknowl- 
edging to Columbus, under date of Dec. 8, 1502, the receipt of 
sundry important documents remitted by him to them through 



344 APPENDIX. 

Messer Nicolo Oderigo, the Republic's ambassador to the Spanish 
Court, the Seignory state that this action of Columbus has given 
them "exceptional gratification, evidencing as it does that your 
Excellency is, as your character would imply, devoted to tJiis 
your native land {questa sua originaria patriay Further on, 
in the same epistle, they refer to the "generosity and benignity 
which you show toward this, the country of your birth {questa 
primogenita patriay Finally, in alluding to the provisions of 
the deed of entail above-mentioned, the Seignory declare : " We 
shall ever be as affectionately inclined toward the before-men- 
tioned Don Diego, your illustrious son, as the very condition of 
his being your son demands, as well as the pre-eminence of your 
own deeds and glory, of which our common country claims and 
cherishes its full share." The whole tone of this interesting 
communication is, indeed, that of the chief-magistracy of a 
popular government endeavoring to appropriate to the Common- 
wealth a part of the fame achieved by one of its distinguished 
sons. 

That Columbus, in referring to Genoa, alluded to the city 
proper, and not to any one of the towns situated in its territory, 
is obvious from the distinction made by him in the deed of en- 
tail. The fifth " Item " from the end reads thus : " I also enjoin 
my son Diego, or whomever shall enjoy the said entail, to seek 
and labor always for the honor, well-being, and aggrandizement 
of the city of Genoa, and to exert all his powers and resources 
in defending and increasing the well-being and glory of its 
republic^ Here it is apparent that Columbus discriminates 
between the city and its dependent territory. That the house 
wherein he was born has not been discovered and located be- 
yond cavil, does not seem to us to weigh down the repeated 
asseverations of the man himself. 



NOTE B. 

THE DATE OF COLUMBUS's BIRTH. 

Ar no place in his existing writings has Columbus stated 
definitely the year of his birth, and none of his contemporaries 
attempt to fix it with exactness. Historical critics have assigned 
it variously to 1435, to 1455, and to intermediate years. We 
shall content ourselves with transcribing such extracts from ac- 
credited authorities as may serve to aid the reader in forming 
an individual opinion. 



APPENDIX. 345 

The remarkable " Book of Prophecies," in which Columbus ^ 
endeavored to show that the Hebrew Prophets foretold the re- 
covery of the Holy Sepulchre by means of the treasures resulting 
from his discovery of the New World, contains on folio IV. an 
address from the Admiral to the Spanish Sovereigns, which 
opens thus: "From a very tender age (jnuy peque/ia edad) I 
embarked on the sea, as a sea-farer, and have continued thereon 
until this day. This career inclines whomsoever follows it to 
seek to know the hidden things of this world. More thati forty 
years are already spent since I engaged in this practice," etc. 

Again he says, a little later on in the same address : " I re- 
peat, that I set aside all the navigating I have done si?ice early 
youth (edad niieva),^^ etc. ; a repetition which establishes at 
least the certainty that he first went to sea while very young. 

His friend and contemporary, the curate of Los Palacios, 
writing after the death of Columbus, says that "he died at Val- 
ladolid, in the year 1506, in the month of May, in a good old 
age, — being seventy years old, a little more or less." This 
would make him about sixty-six in 1502, when the " Prophe- 
cies " were written ; consequently, upon our assumption that 
the " more than forty years" during which he followed the sea 
mean forty-two or forty-four, Columbus would have been twenty- 
three or twenty-five years old when he entered upon a sailor's 
life, — an hypothesis irreconcilable with his twice-repeated 
reference to his "tender years." 

The difficulties surrounding the subject are well summed up 
by the learned. Senor Navarrete in his introduction to that 
" Collection of Voyages " which has proved such a mine to all 
students of the Discovery. After analyzing the conflicting tes- 
timony concerning Columbus's birthplace, the Spanish scholar 
says (vol. i. p. Ixxix) : — 

" There is even a greater difference of opinion in fixing the date of 
Colon's birth and of some of the earlier events of his life. Ramusio 
says that he was forty years of age when he first proposed to the 
Seignory of Genoa the project of sailing to the West in order to reach 
India and carry on directly the traffic in spices, which proposal was 
deprecated as a dream or idle fable ; and that Colon, offended that 
they should not give weight to his argument, went to negotiate the 
affair with the King of Portugal. . . . Since we know, through his son 

1 Doubt has been thrown, we think somewhat arrogantly, upon the author- 
ship of this famous manuscript. We have greater confidence in the expert 
skill of the experienced scholars who unhesitatingly affirmed it to be Colum- 
bus's work, than m the guarded scepticism of those who question it. The 
latter " deny " altogether too much. 



346 APPENDIX. 

Don Fernando, that Colon came to Spain as a fugitive from Portugal 
toward the close of 1484, we are forced to the conclusion that in 1470 
he was already in Lisbon. If he was then forty years old, according 
to Ramusio, it is clear that he must have been born in 1430. . . . 
Peter Martyr, also, states that Colon was forty years old when he sub- 
mitted to the Seignory of Genoa his project of discovery ; but as he 
mentions no date, it is not possible to fix the year in which he was 
born. Muhoz indicates 1446; and if Colon was of the age stated 
when, in 1485, he went to Genoa to offer his services and present his 
schemes, — as the author believes, — his birth would have taken 
place in 1445. In the letter which Colon wrote to his sovereigns 
when in Jamaica, the 7th of June, 1503, he says obscurely that he en- 
tered their service at twenty-eight years of age, which would show 
that he was born in 1456 ; but there is plainly a mistake in the copies 
of this document, as some writers have already pointed out, and as we 
ourselves have also remarked. 

"About the year 1501 or 1502 Colon addressed to the monarchs 
his book of ' Prophecies,' and states that for more than forty years he 
had followed the sea; and his son quotes another letter in which he 
(Colon) declares that he began to go to sea when fourteen years old. 
If to these fifty-four years we add the eight which he passed in Spain 
without making a cruise, — from the end of 1484 to August, 1492, — 
and the four which elapsed from 1502 to his death, we gather that he 
lived at least sixty-six years ; although Pere Charlevoix says sixty-five. 
The Curate of Los Palacios, who knew and was on intimate terms with 
him, asserts 1 ... In this case, he must have been born in 1436 ; and 
this appears the more probable if we heed what Oviedo declares, when, 
in relating the death of Colon, he says that he was ' already an old 
man ; ' and when the king, in granting him, in 1505, permission to ride 
on muleback, states, among other reasons, that it was because of his 
' advanced age,' which could not be properly asserted of a man sixty 
years old." 

We differ from Sefior Navarrete and those who follow him in 
supposing that Columbus, when speaking of the long period 
during which he followed the sea, referred only to the years ac- 
tually passed in voyaging. If we deduct the years he passed on 
land in Spain, why not deal in like manner with the years when 
he was carteando — painting maps — in Lisbon ? And is it not 
almost certain that in 1485, at least, he was away from Spain, — 
as some have it, laying his project before the Genoese and 
\'enetian authorities ; or, as others hold, in the sea-fight off St. 
Vincent.'' To us the context seems to show that the " more 
than forty years " embraced the whole term of his sea-faring life. 
Nor do we read the Jamaica letter as Sefior Navarrete does. 

^ Quoted on the preceding page. 



APPENDIX. 347 

" I began to serve ever since twenty-eight years of age," is what 
Columbus wrote. He does not intimate that he then entered 
the service of Spain ; on the contrary, the sense is that he then 
began to labor in his scheme of discovery. If he was born in 
1445, he was twenty-eight years old in 1473 ; and this apparently 
coincides with the year when he began his correspondence with 
Toscanelli concerning the feasibility of a westward passage to 
India, since the latter's reply is written in 1474. If the Jamaica 
letter proves anything, it would seem to be that Columbus was 
twenty-eight years old in 1473. 

Adopting Don P^ernando's citation from a lost letter of his 
father, that the latter was fourteen when he first went to sea, 
and adding forty-two years as the equivalent of " more than 
forty," he would be about fifty-six when the " Prophecies " were 
written, or about sixty-one when he died, in 1506. "Round 
numbers " are apt to be used where exact dates are not avail- 
able; and we are inclined to the opinion that the curate of Los 
Palacios, in stating that his friend was " seventy years old, a 
little fnore or less,'' at the time of his death, was only using the 
common Spanish form of approximation, which may as properly 
be read sixty-five or sixty-six as seventy exactly. Moreover, 
the difference between " sixty " and " seventy " in Spanish is 
but a single consonant, and in crabbed writing an error would 
be easy. We do not advance these remarks to discredit either 
the ancient chroniclers or their more recent followers, or to sup- 
port any theory of our own, but only to evoke a spirit of caution 
in dealing with a matter far from easy of solution. We know, 
both from his own and from his contemporaries' declarations, 
that Columbus was aged for his years, and especially in the 
bitter lustrum preceding his death was infirm and broken; there- 
fore, if only sixty, he might well have the appearance of and be 
characterized as an " old man." 



NOTE C. 

Columbus's stay at the courts of Portugal and spain. 

The Admiral himself twice states that he spent fourteen 
years in his applications to the Portuguese Crown for assistance 
in making a western voyage, and seven at the Spanish Court 
before his petition was granted. We know that he left Lisbon, 
or rather fled from that city, toward the close of the year 1484; 
therefore he must have gone there in 1470, or early in '71. In 



348 APPENDIX. 

that pathetic letter which, the year before his death, he addressed 
to King Ferdinand, Columbus says that he first " came to anchor 
in Portugal because the king of that country was more learned 
in discoveries than any other." It seems to us doubtful whether 
at this time his mind was bent upon a westward cruise, or 
whether he had any more definite plan than to use his knowledge 
of navigation to the best advantage in the expeditions then fre- 
quently sailing under the Portuguese flag in search of a southern 
passage around Africa. Be this as it may, it was not long before 
a western vovage became the master idea in Columbus's mind. 

How he had passed the earlier years of his life, from the ship-boy 
age of fourteen to the skilled mariner's of twenty-five or twenty- 
six, is largely a matter of conjecture. He has recorded, as we 
have seen, only that he "followed the sea." His contemporaries 
relate tales of shipwreck, of naval battles, of expeditions against 
the corsairs of Barbary, even of what would be called to-day 
deeds of flat piracy, as occurring during the years preceding his 
arrival at Lisbon. Las Casas quotes from a manuscript of Co- 
lumbus, which he calls his " Book of Memoirs," allusions to 
various voyages and adventures, and in our extracts from the 
Admiral's Diary we have had occasion to notice the extent of 
his wanderings to distant shores ; but most of these cruises are 
referable to the period of his nominal stay in Portugal. It 
seems most likely that prior to 1470 his exploits were confined 
to the Mediterranean waters; and these he seems to have 
known familiarly, from the Pillars of Hercules to the Bos- 
phorus, both on the European and African coasts. In the first 
half of the fifteenth century there was occupation enough, both 
in navigating and fighting, on these sapphire seas. 

The first distinct knowledge that we have of the future dis- 
coverer is through the medium of his friend Las Casas, who 
says that Columbus and Fernando Martinez were occupied in 
compiling and painting charts for King Alonzo of Portugal, and 
the daring navigators who then made Lisbon their point of de- 
parture for the bold ventures along the western coasts of Africa 
which culminated in 1487 in the discovery of the Cape of Good 
Hope. At that time Columbus was a diligent student of the 
learning of the ancients, and in especial seems to have been in- 
fluenced by the " Imago Mundi " of Petrus Aliacus, — a schol- 
arly dissertation upon and compendium of early cosmography 
as exhibited in the writings of Pliny, Strabo, Aristotle, Seneca, 
Ptolemy, and other authors. The original copy of this book, 
profusely annotated by Columbus's own hand, is yet preserved, 
and bears evidence on numerous pages of the great enterprise 



APPENDIX. 349 

which was fast shaping itself in his mind. Another work which 
was copiously commentated by Columbus was the " Historia 
Rerum " of /Eneas Sylvius ; while his attention was likewise 
drawn to the travels of Marco Polo and Mandeville; indeed, to 
the wildly gorgeous accounts given by the former of these two 
veracious travellers Columbus was indebted for that unshaken 
belief in the certainty of finding Cipango — the modern Japan 

— which so constantly influenced him in the first period of his 
Discovery. 

Meantime his collaborator in the compilation of maps, the 
Canon Martinez, was in correspondence with Paolo Toscanelli, 

— a deeply learned Florentine philosopher, whose high reputa- 
tion for geographical skill was based on the practical observa- 
tions derived from long voyages through the then known seas, 
as well as upon exhaustive study of all obtainable works dealing 
with the subject. To this eminent man Columbus wrote, in 
1474, and received in reply that fascinating letter in which he 
applauds the argument of Columbus as to the certainty of reach- 
ing India by a westward passage, and urges him to make his 
contemplated voyage " to the land where the spices are born," 
where " the temples and royal palaces are covered with planks 
of gold." The more to confirm his correspondent's confidence, 
Toscanelli sends him a copy of a recent letter to Martinez, writ- 
ten at the request of the King of Portugal, and also a copy of 
tJie map which he had prepared for his Majesty, in which the 
countries referred to by Marco Polo are laid down in their sup- 
posed relations to Europe. It is worth while to note that the 
aged Florentine scientist, in his letter to Martinez, dilates upon 
the advantages which would accrue to Portugal were she to 
push her advantages across the Atlantic rather than southward 
along the African coasts ; and also that he refers to Columbus, 
in writing to him, as one of "the Portuguese nation," — misled 
apparently by the latter's own letter being addressed from Lis- 
bon. The effect of this correspondence on the already ardent 
imagination of Columbus is traceable throughout his whole sub- 
sequent career, and is frequently referred to in our narrative. 
As we have there seen, he used Toscanelli's map throughout 
the first voyage ; and many of the delusions which he then 
cherished are directly referable to that ingenious production. 
Unfortunately no copy of Columbus's letter to Toscanelli has 
been found. Las Casas says that he himself "saw it and had 
it in his possession, translated from Latin into Spanish." He 
adds that the letters from Toscanelli were in Latin. Doubtless 
Columbus also enjoyed at this period the advantage of Martin 



350 ATPENDIX. 

de Behaim's acquaintance, and was familiar with the labors 
which resulted in 1492 in the publication of the globe bearing 
that cosmographer's name. 

The great explorer during these years was diligently accumu- 
lating all such maps and charts as professed to give the con- 
tour of the world, and pursued indefatigably his questionings of 
all mariners who had sailed in other quarters than those visited 
by himself. What to him must have been a priceless collection 
of charts and accounts of voyages made to the recently discov- 
ered Canary Islands and like remote frontiers of the habitable 
globe came into his possession in 1473, or thereabouts, upon 
his marriage to Donna Felipa Moniz Perestrello, daughter of a 
Portuguese nobleman, who had made several voyages of dis- 
covery in the service of the sailor prince Dom Henrique. This 
marriage also resulted in Columbus visiting tlie island of Porto 
Santo, one of the Madeira group, where his father-in-law had 
been governor during his lifetime, and where his widow yet 
possessed extensive estates. Here Columbus's son Diego was 
born, in 1474, and from here the father made voyages to Madeira 
and the Canaries. Other and wider sea-wandering he also did 
while his nominal home was in Portugal ; for we are told that 
he sailed "many times" to the Guinea coasts, and once to 
" Ultima Thule," — which some historians think was the Faroe 
Archipelago, though most believe that Iceland was so called, 
and rightly, we judge. To this period are to be assigned the 
other voyages of which Columbus speaks in the course of his 
writings, — to England, Ireland, France, Flanders. His claim 
that he had "sailed every sea which until to-day is navigated " 
was no idle boast. 

Notwithstanding his long absences on these distant journcy- 
ings, Columbus gained fame and credit as a geographer of su- 
preme ability, and steadfastly pressed his suit for the ships and 
men he needed to cross the Western Ocean. King Alonzo ended 
his vacillating reign in 14S0, and John II. ascended the Portu- 
guese throne ; but neither granted the aid the Genoese asked. To 
use his own words, " God so closed the eyes and ears and all 
the senses " of Portugal's king that " in fourteen years I could 
not make him understand what I was saying." From John II. 
indeed he experienced that treachery of which he speaks so 
bitterly in our earlier pages ; but these years were far from 
wasted, for his writings bear constant witness to the vast store 
of experience and knowledge acquired during this period of 
alternate voyaging and study ; and in his diary it is the fa- 
miliarity with the Atlantic Ocean in its manifold phases which 



APPENDIX. 351 

he then gained that established his faith and led him ever west- 
ward when the courage of his stoutest pilots was all but gone. 

In 1484, toward the close of the year, he left Lisbon sud- 
denly, and apparently by stealth. His wife was dead, and he 
was deeply involved in debt. That his flight was connected 
with money troubles is conjectured from his Testament, al- 
ready cited ; for in the codicil thereto dated the week before his 
death he directs the payment of sundry sums, reaching the im- 
portant total of more than one hundred thousand maravedies, 
to various Jew and Genoese merchants of Lisbon, with the in- 
junction that the payments were to be arranged " in such man- 
ner that it should not be known who had caused them to be 
made." That he was in Lisbon at least a part of 1484 is ap- 
parent from the statement in his diary (9th of August, 1492) 
that, "being in Portugal in 1484, he saw a resident of the island 
of Madeira come to ask of the king a caravel to go in search 
of " the phantom land which was so often seen on the western 
horizon and never found. 

In leaving Portugal Columbus's plan seems to have been to go to 
Paris and lay his projects before the Court of France. From this 
he was dissuaded by the Duke of Medina Celi, the most powerful 
of the grandees of Spain, whose protection he sought immedi- 
ately after his sudden departure from Lisbon, and whose hospi- 
tality he enjoyed during the two years which elapsed until, in 
i486, he made his first appearance before Ferdinand and Isabella. 
This, at least, is the positive declaration of the great noble in 
the letter which his Grace wrote to the Grand Cardinal of Spain, 
— that famous Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, of heretic burning 
proclivities, — which was dated from "this my town of Cogolludo, 
the 19th of March [1493]," four days after Columbus's return to 
Palos from his successful expedition. The letter is worth quot- 
ing in its entirety. It will be observed that the Duke had heard 
of Columbus's arrival at Lisbon ; he had not yet learned of his 
still later entry into the port of Palos. The epistle runs: — 

Most Reverend Sir, — I am not aware whether your Lordship 
knows that I had Cristoforo Colon under my roof for a long time 
when he came from Portugal and wished to go to the King of France, 
in order that he might go in search of the Indies with his Majesty's 
aid and countenance. I myself wished to make the venture, and 
to despatch him from my port [Santa Maria], where I had a good 
equipment of three or four caravels, since he asked no tnore from me; ' 

' This still further disposes of the idea, sometimes advanced, that Colum- 
bus, in making his voyage in three small ships, was acting under the stress of 
necessity. Here we see him, six years before 1402, asking only the same fleet 
which he afterward received from the Spanish Crown. 



352 APPENDIX. 

but as I recognized that this was an undertaking for the Queen, our 
Sovereign, I wrote about the matter to her Highness from Rota, 
and she replied that I should send him to her. Therefore I sent him, 
and asked her Highness that, since I did not desire to pursue the 
enterprise but had arranged it for her service, she should direct that 
compensation be made to me, and that I might have a share in it, by 
having the loading and unloading of the commerce done in the Port. 

Her Highness received him [Colon], and referred him to Alonso 
de Quintaniila, who, in turn, i.i>rote me that he did not consider this affair 
to be very certain; but that, if it should go through, her Highness 
would give me a reward and part in it. After having well studied it, 
she agreed to send him in search of the Indies. Some eight months 
ago he set out, and now has arrived at Lisbon on his return voyage, 
and has found all which he sought and very completely ; which, as 
soon as I knew, in order to advise her Highness of such good tidings, 
I am writing by Inares and sending him to beg that she grant me the 
privilege of sending out there each year some of my own caravels. 

I entreat your Lordship that you may be pleased to assist me in 
this and also ask it in my behalf; since on my account and through 
my keeping him [Colon] t-Mo years in 77iy house, and having placed 
him at her Majesty's service, so great a thing as this has come to 
pass. And because Inares will inform your Lordship more in detail, 
I beg you to hearken to him. 

May Our Lord protect your very reverend person as your Lord- 
ship desires. 

From this charmingly frank specimen of courtly wire-pulling 
it is evident that Columbus was first presented to Queen Isa- 
bella, in i486, by this powerful noble, and not by the priests, as 
is so commonly recorded. The letter is too circumstantial to 
admit of dispute as to the facts alleged, and accounts for the 
two years between his leaving Portugal and his reception at 
the Spanish Court in the only manner admissible. If Columbus 
took part, as Las Casas asserts, in the sea-fight between the 
French and Venetian galleys off St. Vincent, in 1485, it must 
have been while nominally under the protection of Medina Celi ; 
and if he went to Genoa and Venice to press his plans upon the 
consideration of those republics, as some assert, he most prob- 
ably did so at this time. It is barely possible, indeed, that he 
was aboard the Venetian galleys, returning to Spain when the 
fight occurred, and not on the French ships, as is generally 
alleged There is no substantial historical basis for any of 
these conjectures, however, beyond the fact, recorded by Las 
Casas, that the Seignory of Venice sent to thank the Portuguese 
king "at the time of the election of Maximilian, son of the 
Emperor Frederic, as Kmg of the Romans," for aid rendered 
the shipwrecked survivors of this naval battle. The election 



APPENDIX. 353 

mentioned took place in i486; so the fight may well have 
occurred in the previous year. 

At all events Columbus enjoyed the ostensible patronage of 
the great duke from some time in '84 to the beginning of 
'86. He himself says in his diary, under date of Jan. 14, 
1493, that he formally entered the service of the Spanish mon- 
archs on the 20th of January, i486; and this should be conclu- 
sive. It was in this same year that those debates, discussions, 
or conferences took place at Salamanca between Columbus and 
the learned schoolmen appointed by the Spanish sovereigns to 
hear the arguments of the Genoese geographer and pass judg- 
ment upon their merits. These discussions have passed into 
history as the " Council of Salamanca," and as such have been 
celebrated alike by pen and brush ; but it is doubtful whether 
they were more than a series of conferences carried on without 
especial pomp or circumstance, much as similar conferences 
are conducted in Spanish countries at the present day. Such, 
at least, is the character given them by Dr. Rodrigo Maldo- 
nado, who, as a member of the Royal Council resident at 
Salamanca, was deputed by the sovereigns, "together with 
other learned men, scholars, and seamen," to " argue with the 
said Admiral concerning his voyage to the said islands," that 
is, the Indies. Beyond this there is no evidence that the queen 
or king took any part in the proceedings. The result of the 
investigation was, according to Dr. Maldonado (and he was a 
faithful friend and supporter of Columbus later on), that " all 
agreed that it was impossible that what he said should be true." 
Doubtless it was about this time also that Quintanilla, after- 
ward so stanch a supporter of Columbus, wrote to his friend 
the Duke of Medina Cell "that he did not consider the busi- 
ness to be very certain." 

The failure of the clergy and pilots to sustain the views of 
the great discoverer led to the temporary abandonment of the 
project by Ferdinand and Isabella; but they still retained him 
in attendance at their Court. In 1487 we find four payments 
made to Cristoval Colomo (note that the name was not yet His- 
panicized into Colon), amounting in all to fourteen thousand 
maravedies, " for certain matters pertaining to the service of 
their Majesties;" and other like payments in 1488. Beyond 
this, until he appears at the portal of La Rabida, the details of 
Columbus's life at the Spanish Court are lost to us. That he 
persistently urged his project appears both from his own re- 
peated declarations which are incorporated in our narrative and 
from the testimony of his contemporaries and friends. In the 

23 



354 APPENDIX. 

pursuit of his object he gained some powerful and courageous 
supporters among the highest notabilities of Isabella's Court, 
but more and equally influential enemies among the envious, 
the bigoted, and the would-be wise. Thrice during these 
years was he invited by as many princes to visit them and 
discuss his proposed enterprise with them, — by the kings 
of England, France, and Portugal. The latter wrote him on 
the 2oth of March, 1488, seemingly in answer to some com- 
munication made to him by Columbus, and urged him to return 
to Lisbon, adding a warranty of safe-conduct, "since per- 
chance you may have some apprehension of our officers of 
justice on account of certain matters to which you may be 
bound." Of the invitation sent by Charles VIII. of France, or 
rather by the regent Anne, no trace remains. That of the Eng- 
lish Henry VII. was no doubt sent in answer to the solicitations 
of Bartholom^ Colon, the navigator's brother, who had gone to 
London in i486 to lay Christopher's scheme before that king. 
All these three flattering commands from royalty were received 
by Columbus while waiting at the Spanish Court, and by him 
were laid before Isabella. " I had letters of request from three 
princes," he says in his letter of May, 1505, to Ferdinand, 
"which the Queen (whom God have in His holy glory !) saw, 
and had read to her by Dr. Villalan." 

It was in 1491, so far as we can determine, that Columbus, 
being then in Seville, decided to leave Spain and again start for 
France, in the hope that the regent Anne would be as good as 
her written offer, and lend him the aid he had not been able to 
secure from Spain. It was then, if we read aright the testimony 
of those who knew best his movements at the time, that he 
stopped at the Convent of La Rabida, met the warm-hearted 
friar Juan Perez, and through the entreaties of that kindred 
spirit and his friend Garcia Fernandez the physician, was per- 
suaded to make the final appeal to Isabella which resulted in 
the discovery of the western continent. 

In this view of the obscure years of Columbus's life we have 
differed widely from many familiar presentations of the subject; 
but we have followed faithfully the original documents bearing 
on the period, and find no other consistent record possible than 
that here given and adopted in our narrative. 



i 



APPENDIX. 355 

NOTE D. 

COLUMBUS AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA. 

We have begun our story with the visit of Columbus to La 
Rabida, because here, for the first time, we could tread on solid 
ground with the plain testimony of eyewitnesses to guide us. 
Most of the critics and historians of Columbus's career attribute 
to him /w^ visits to the convent and its good prior, Juan Antonio 
Perez ; but we fail to find any sufficient authority for such a 
view. Las Casas, indeed, does give an account of a first visit, 
made by Columbus on his way from Portugal into Spain, which 
he says he heard "from one of the old residents of this island," 
— that is, San Domingo ; but he follows it with the story of the 
single visit as related by Garcia Fernandez, in a manner which 
indicates that to the latter account he gives the greater credence. 
According to the former version, Columbus knocked at the con- 
vent gate on his journey to the Spanish Court, and was so hos- 
pitably received by the worthy guardian of the little monastery 
that when, in 1491, he abandoned all further hope of aid from 
the sovereigns of Castile and turned his face toward France, he 
once more sought La Rabida, and took counsel of Fray Juan 
Perez. This is, therefore, counted as his second visit. From 
this point onward accounts agree in most respects concerning 
the encouragement given him by the liberal-minded priest and 
the efficient help given by him to Columbus. 

We differ radically from this position, and have in our ac- 
count followed the statements made by Garcia Fernandez the 
physician, old Juan de Cabezudo, and other villagers of Palos 
whose evidence was given in unmistakable language twenty- 
two years later in the pleiio, or lawsuit, brought by Diego Colon 
against the Spanish Crown to enforce the fulfilment of all the 
engagements made with his deceased father the Admiral. 

The effort was being made to show that to the Pinzons all the 
credit for the discovery was due, down to the very money used 
by Columbus in going from La Rabida to the Court. In reply 
Dr. Fernandez declares that undoubtedly Martin Alonzo Pinzon 
had the means to do what was alleged ; but that the whole affair 
happened in a very different manner, which he proceeds to relate : 
Columbus with his "little boy," the doctor says, arrived in Pa- 
los on foot, and "put into La Rabida in distress" (the nautical 
phrase d la arribada is significant). He asked of the porter 
bread and water for his lad, which were given. Seeing him there, 



356 APPENDIX. 

Fray Juan Perez, guardian, or prior, of the monaster)-, entered 
into conversation with him, and discovered at once from his 
speech that he was a foreigner. In answer to the friar's kindly 
inquiries, Columbus entered into a frank conversation with him, 
and described at some length his prolonged efforts to interest 
the Spanish m.onarchs in his daring scheme, with the result 
only that many of the courtiers mocked at him for a dreamer of 
dreams, and asserted that "it was all thin air, and there was no 
sense in it." Wearied with such crass bigotry and ignorance, 
Columbus " had left the Court, and was now on his way directly 
from Palos to Huelva to see and confer with the husband of his 
wife's sister, Muliar by name." Struck by his sincerity, and 
impressed with the soundness of his visitor's arguments, the 
prior kept him at the convent while he sent to the adjoining 
village of Palos to summon this same Dr. Fernandez — "with 
whom he had an affectionate friendship, and because he (the 
doctor) knew something of the astronomical art" — to come 
and converse with "the said Cristdval Colon " and examine the 
correctness of his views "touching this matter of discovery." 
The doctor went to the convent " at once, and all three conferred 
about the affair." 

The subsequent action of this little band is shown in our nar- 
rative ; still following the simple and convincing relation of 
Garcia Fernandez. From all his testimony, which remains un- 
controverted to this day, it is evident that this was the first visit 
of Columbus to La Rabida,and that it was through the aid and 
encouragement then extended by the two friends, priest and lay- 
man, that he was again enabled to visit Granada and secure a 
favorable hearing from Queen Isabella. 

The whole account is detailed and circumstantial, and we 
have limited ourselves to it, adding only such explanatory and 
corroborative facts as a careful study of Columbus's own writ- 
ings and the archives of the period supphed. The substance 
of the Admiral's conversation is given by the physician himself; 
but we have preferred to substitute the language of the dis- 
coverer's letters for the necessarily brief summary given by 
Garcia Fernandez in his verbal testimony. 

The evidence of Juan Rodriguez Cabezudo is no less em- 
phatic and conclusive than that of the physician. He swore 
that " he saw the old Admiral [as distinguished from Don Diego, 
the young Admiral] in this town of Moguer, going about with a 
Franciscan friar trying to arrange for a discovery of the Indies ; 
and the said Admiral asked him [Cabezudo] to lend him a mule, 
on which the said friar could go to Court to carry on the nego- 



APPENDIX. 357 

tiation, and he let him have it," etc. Other statements he also 
made, which have been woven into our narrative. 

Now, the physician Garcia Fernandez explicitly refers to this 
mule, and says that Juan Perez set out on it at midnight on his 
journey to the Court. 

In view of the directness of the stories told by both doctor 
and sailor, we are satisfied that Columbus did not visit La 
Rabida before the occasion referred to by these witnesses, and 
that the supposition of any previous visit must be due to a con- 
fused mention of the Admiral's return from his finally successful 
mission to Granada, when he was again an inmate of the friendly 
cloisters during the preparation of his Httle fleet in the adjoining 
port of Palos. 

The incidents which we have related concerning the early life 
of Sebastian Rodriguez, the ex-pirate, and other details up to 
the time of Columbus's return from Granada, have been ob- 
tained by a careful collation of official documents selected from 
the Archives of the Indies, and printed by Navarrete. 



NOTE E. 

Columbus's debt to earlier navigators. 

" Your Majesties determined to send me, Cristoval Colon, to the 
said parts of India to see the said princes and nations and countries 
. . . and directed that I should not go by land to the Orient by the 
way it was customary to travel ; but by the route to the West, by which 
we do not know to this day, of a surety, that any one has passed." 

In such frank phrase did Columbus begin the journal in which 
he wrote down frotn day to day, for the information of his sov- 
ereigns, the incidents of the daring adventure he had under- 
taken. Neither here nor elsewhere in his writings did he claim 
to have invented the theory of a western passage to Asia. On 
the contrary, he based his belief in its practicability on the con- 
sensus of evidence which for twenty years he had been indus- 
triously accumulating, — partly by studying the works of ancient 
and contemporary philosophers and travellers, partly from his 
contact with other seafaring men, partly from observation of 
winds and currents and the spoil they cast on more than one 
Atlantic beach. To himself we owe our chief knowledge of the 
sources whence his faith was derived. Pedro de Velasco. pilot to 
Diego Detiene, told Columbus in the Convent of La Rabida of a 
lonesome voyage far out into the Ocean Sea, the fruit of which 



358 APPENDIX. 

was the discovery of Flores Island. Martin Vincente informed 
him in Portugal of a voyage four hundred and fifty leagues 
due west from Cape St. Vincent, which resulted in nothing more 
than pushing back the horizon that much farther. From Cazaud 
he learned of the voyage in search of a western land seen 
by Diaz de Tavera. The blind sailor and his Portuguese ship- 
mate who are mentioned in our narrative told him how they 
were blown far to the northwest of Ireland, and caught sight of 
a coast they fancied was Tartary. All these facts, and others, 
we owe to Columbus's own pen. He did not attempt to ignore 
his debt to others ; he determined to prove " of a surety " that 
the Dark Ocean was a highway, not a bottomless chaos 

We put aside as futile the argument that he was mdebted for 
his steadfast confidence to the Norse Sagas which describe the 
voyages of Leif Erikson and his hardy countrymen to Labrador. 
If, in the " Ultima Thule" visited by Columbus in 1467, we rec- 
ognize the modern Iceland, it is not credible that at twenty-one 
or twenty-two years of age he should have time or inclination 
to study Runic lore while on a hasty privateering cruise. Had 
he done so, or had he learned in later years of Vinland the 
Good, as some would have it, through the medium of faded 
parchments " procured from the Vatican for the Pinzons," he 
would surely have adduced so pertinent a witness when quot- 
ing the far less important testimony of Aristotle, Seneca, and 
Pliny. If he attached weight to the vague tales of the blind 
sailor of Murcia, why should he have failed to present the posi- 
tive proof of a voyage which could be so circumstantially estab- 
lished ? That Leif Erikson reached Labrador we are prepared 
to believe ; but that Columbus knew of so momentous a cor- 
roboration of his theory, we greatly doubt. As to the Pinzon 
fable, it is refuted by the testimony of Pinzon's own son, who 
asserts that he was present with his father when the latter ob- 
tained in Rome a certain "writing" concerning the western 
lands, and that it was " of the time of Solomon." Even the 
Dighton Rock can hardly claim so venerable a pedigree. 

The legend of the dying pilot, Sanchez, delivering to Columbus 
in 1485 a map showing the location of Hispaniola, whither 
Sanchez had been blown by easterly gales, and whence he had 
miraculously returned, rests on an equally frail foundation. Las 
Casas says it was "common" in Hispaniola after Columbus's 
death, but he gives it no credence. It is so variously and 
loosely related in other chronicles that we may safely assume, 
with the doughty Benzoni, " there were many who could not 
endure that a foreigner and an Italian should have acquired so 



APPENDIX. 359 

much honor and so much glory, not only for the Spanish king- 
dom, but also for the other nations of the world." 

Mutatis miitandi the same might be said of those who, under 
the pretext of "historical criticism," spend their powers in trying 
to prove that we owe the discovery of our continent to a happy 
combination of good-luck and fraud. 



NOTE F. 

THE FUNDS FOR THE VOYAGE. 

In his codicil, dated May 19, 1506, a few days before his 
death, Columbus mentions that "their Majesties did not spend, 
or wish to spend, more than one miUion maravedies, and // was 
necessary for me to provide the rest.''' We know that at the 
time he set out across the Western Ocean Columbus was no 
capitalist, and the queries naturally arise : How much was " the 
rest " ? Who supplied it ? 

The Crown furnished 1,040,000 maravedies. This money was 
advanced by Luiz de Santangel, Escribano de Rocion, or Comp- 
troller, of the kingdom of Aragon. From existing documents 
it is apparent that this was no " loan," as is so often and roman- 
tically asserted; for on the 5th of May, 1492, — only eighteen 
days after the capitulation for the voyage was signed between 
Columbus and the Spanish sovereigns, — we find a part of the 
sum so advanced being repaid to Santangel, or rather to his 
order, by the Archbishop of Granada from the coffers of the 
Church. The language of the entry is plainly that of a mere 
transfer of accounts, and the money furnished to find " the 
Indies" is prosaically coupled with another million of mara- 
vedies received from Don Isaac Abraham, a wealthy Jew, to 
carry on the war with the Moors. The Archbishop seems to 
have been the real lender of the Columbus funds, for as late as 
August, 1494, we find the prelate still receiving payments on 
account of his payments to Santangel. 

The expedition cost more in its preparation than the amount 
supplied by the Crown, and it has been commonly assumed that 
the additional sum required was 500,000 maravedies, and that 
these were contributed by the Pinzons. Las Casas refers to 
this ; not as a fact, but as his own surmise from certain entries 
on the notarial records of Palos. It has also been supposed 
that this sum represented the "eighth " which, under his con- 
tract with the sovereigns, Columbus was obliged to furnish. A 



360 APPENDIX. 

reference to that document, as given in Chapter V. of our nar- 
rative, will show that it was wholly optional with Columbus to 
subscribe this portion of the cost of the expedition. Had he 
exercised the option (and, as Las Casas suggests, he doubtless 
did so in order to furnish material evidence of the faith which 
inspired him), the amount required would have been far less 
than 500,000 maravedies. On his return in 1493 the sovereigns 
granted him a special gratuity of 375,000 maravedies ; possibly 
this was designed to afford him the means to repay the debt in- 
curred by him personally to supplement the insufficient contri- 
bution of the Crown. Be this as it may, it is not probable that 
the Pinzons, had they supplied any such sum of money as that 
alleged and not been repaid, would have failed to lay great 
stress upon it in the determined and virulent effort which they 
made in 15 19 to rob him of all the credit of the discovery. 



NOTE G. 

THE PART ACTUALLY TAKEN BY THE PINZON BROTHERS. 

Garcia Fernandez, in his testimony in the pleito., or law- 
suit, already referred to, twice declares in positive terms that 
Columbus first met the Pinzons and secured their co-operation 
after his return from his last and successful visit to Granada. 
" And he came from there," he states in answer to one interrog- 
atory, " armed with authority to take the said ships, which he 
should indicate as being suitable for the prosecution of the said 
voyage, and it is at this time that the arrangement and associ- 
ation which he made with Martin Alonzo and Vicente Yanez 
were consummated, because they were both competent men and 
familiar with nautical affairs. And they, in addition to their 
own knowledge and that of the said Cristdval Colon, instructed 
him and assisted him in many things which were of value on the 
said voyage." In replying to another query, the same witness 
repeats : " After the return of the said Don Cristoval Colon 
from their Majesties' Court to the town of Palos, the said 
Martin Alonzo assisted and aided him in everything that was 
serviceable, and obtained for him the men necessary for making 
the said voyage." In a third answer he says : " In order to go 
in company with the said Admiral, the said Martin Alonzo 
found all the equipment and people, for he was held in much 
esteem in this town in all that concerned the sea, and was wise 
in such matters and a man of much courage." 



APPENDIX. 361 

Still more : Arias Perez, the son of Martin Alonzo, although 
doing his utmost to belittle the achievements of Columbus and 
transfer to his own father the chief glories of the Discovery, 
testified in the same suit : " That when the Admiral returned 
Jro7n the Court he brought a warrant from their Majesties and a 
certain order to go with three ships to discover those lands ; and 
that when the said Admiral arrived in this town of Palos there 
was no man who dared to go with him, or even to let him have 
ships ; all declaring that if he went he would never find land. 
Seeing that there was no means of getting either ships or men, 
he exerted himself greatly in persuading the said Martin Alonzo; 
exhibiting to him the bounties which their Majesties would give 
him [Columbus] for discovering land, and then saying that he 
would share with Martin Alonzo the half of these if he went 
with him, and that he should be the chief captain, and that as a 
man who, with his relatives, could do it, he ought to undertake 
it for their Majesties' service." 

In the face of this positive evidence we think it idle to argue, 
as many writers do and as some of Martin Alonzo's own friends 
(including this very Arias Perez in another place) did, that 
Columbus met the Pinzons before going to Granada, and was 
indebted to them for the means and encouragement with which 
he prosecuted his final suit before the queen. The prior and 
the young physician furnished the moral support, and her 
Majesty herself the financial help needed, in the manner de- 
scribed in our opening chapters. 

That the Pinzons afforded invaluable aid and received there- 
for a share in the products of the voyage, is bej'ond dispute ; 
but we look upon their connection as clearly beginning after 
Columbus had adjusted his contract with the Crown and re- 
ceived the peremptory authority conveyed in the decrees of 
30th April. 

NOTE H. 

THE THREE SHIPS OF PALOS. 

Columbus signed his contract, or capitulation, with Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella on the 17th day of April, 1492. On May 
30, the same day on which the decrees were signed which 
conferred upon him the extensive powers over the ships and 
mariners of all Andalusia, the sovereigns issued their edict ex- 
pelling the Jews from Spain. By the harsh terms of this ordi- 
nance the unfortunate Israelites had to leave the kingdom by 



362 APPENDIX. 

the 31st day of July. According to the most moderate estimates, 
no less than 200,000 emigrated in the interim ; some respectable 
authorities swell the number to 800,000. Very many of these 
exiles went by sea to the Barbary ports, to Italy, and to the 
Levant ; and it cannot be doubted that their requirements for 
ship-room materially reduced the number of vessels available for 
other foreign service at that season. This may account, in 
part, for the difficulty in providing a squadron for Columbus, to 
neutralize which such broad discretion was vested in him. 

The careful reader of history will have observed that the royal 
warrants given Columbus for this end were two in number : the 
one addressed to the civil authorities of the whole province, 
calling upon them to provide three ships for his use; the other 
addressed to the representatives of the Crown in the single port 
of Palos, referring specifically to the two vessels which that 
town was obhged to furnish upon demand, in discharge of the 
penalty imposed upon it by sentence of the Royal Council. 
From this we may infer that if he failed to find what he wanted 
in Palos, he was to seek the ships in the other ports of that 
maritime district; and, in any event, was to call on the superior 
authorities to assist him. 

Palos was an active and enterprising community in those 
days. Its importance as a seaport may be inferred from a 
decree of 1478, which bestowed upon it special immunities and 
privileges for the despatch from its harbor of vessels destined 
for the jealously guarded foreign trade. Ships were constantly 
leaving the little port on what were then adventurous voyages, — 
to the Canaries and Azores, the northern and western coasts of 
Africa, Flanders, and England ; so the presumption must have 
been that it was a promising place in which to seek the vessels 
and crews needed for the perilous venture out into the Sea 
of Darkness. But it has seemed to us, after a painstaking 
study of all the evidence in hand, and a comparison of the re- 
lations existing between the physician Garcia Fernandez, the 
Pinzons, Columbus, the prior Fray Juan Perez, Diego Prieto, 
the alcalde jnayor, and others, and the respective parts taken by 
tliem both at this time and in after years, that the possibility of 
using the penalty under which Palos lay was suggested to 
Columbus at the time of his visit to La Rabida, and had an im- 
portant influence upon the action of Fray Juan Perez. The 
village mayor, Diego Prieto, was certainly summoned to court 
at the time the worthy guardian was making his appeal to the 
queen, and was the medium chosen to communicate her Maj- 
esty's encouraging response and largess to Columbus while the 



APPENDIX. 363 

latter was awaiting the superior's return at La Rabida. When 
Columbus himself returned from Granada, a few months later, 
he brought the order to press the two bounden vessels into his 
service; and since, by the physician's own testimony, it was 
not until this latter date that Columbus consulted with the Pin- 
zons, we are led again to conclude that the suggestion to utilize 
this penalty emanated from some one of the townspeople well 
acquainted with its shipping interests, and from the very outset 
favorably disposed toward Columbus. This one was, we feel 
justified in assuming, none other than the sagacious and helpful 
village doctor. 

In relating the embarrassments encountered in fitting out the 
expedition and the dilatory proceedings of the men of Palos, 
we have followed the records as they exist in the many docu- 
ments referring to the period. To bring the events more 
vividly before our readers, we have transposed literally the evi- 
dence given in 15 13-15 15 concerning the stirring days which 
fell upon Palos in the summer of 1492. 



NOTE I. 

THE FIRST SIGHT OF THE NEW WORLD. 

Washington Irving, following a mistaken conjecture of 
Navarrete, censures Columbus for having accepted from his 
sovereigns the bounty promised by them to whomever should 
first see land, to the manifest injury of that one of the seamen 
who gave the warning-cry on the night of October 12. " It may 
at first sight," says Mr. Irving, " appear but little accordant 
with the acknowledged magnanimity of Columbus to have borne 
away the prize from this poor sailor ; but this was a subject in 
which his whole ambition was involved, and he was doubtless 
proud of being personally the discoverer of the land as well as 
the projector of the enterprise." Passing over the questionable 
ethics involved in this suggestion, as to the saving grace of 
ambition as a suiificient justification for an act of rank robbery, 
we think the charge wholly at variance with the recorded 
facts. Mr. Irving's " Life and Voyages of Columbus " is, to 
say truth, but little more than a graceful and elegant English 
version of the patient labors of Navarrete and the gossiping 
pages of Las Casas; and the errors of his authors have in many 
cases been incorporated textually into his own work by the 



364 APPENDIX. 

gifted romancer of Sunnyside. Unfortunately the view pro- 
pounded in Irving's " Life " has found general credence ; and 
very recently we have seen one of the ablest and most consci- 
entious of American critics commenting upon this incident as 
having "subjected his [Columbus's] memory, not unnaturally, 
to some discredit, at least with those who reckon magnanimity 
among the virtues." 

In both these cases the American historians base their charge 
upon the critical note given in Navarrete (vol. iii. p. 611), " On 
the first sight of land in the New World." With all diffidence 
we conceive that the learned Spanish scholar, the ingenious 
novelist, and the acute critic have alike been misled in the pre- 
mises, and have left erroneously a stain upon the fame of the 
Admiral which he in no wise merited. Navarrete himself be- 
gins his Note by saying: " In order to investigate this point, it 
is necessary to keep in view what the Admiral says in his 
diary regarding Thursday, Oct. 11, 1492;" and in a footnote he 
again refers to " what the Admiral says." He then quotes at 
length from the entry given in the diary under the date named. 
If we, however, turn to the diary itself, we shall find (the more 
pity !) that it is not Columbus himself who there is speaking, 
but Las Casas ; summarizing, as was too often his wont, the 
language of the Admiral from the manuscript journal as it lay 
open before the pious bishop in his monastic quarters in San 
Domingo. The record begins : — 

"Thursday, 11 of October, //^ sailed to the S. S. W.; they had much 
more sea than they had had in all the voyage. They saw some spar- 
rows and a green rush close to the ship. Those of the ' Pinta ' saw a 
cane, and picked up another little stick worked, as it appeared, with 
an iron tool. Those of the 'Nina' also saw other indications of land 
and a branch covered with blossoms. With these signs all breathed 
freely and were cheered. They sailed this day up to sunset 27 leagues. 
After sundown he pursued his original course to the West. They 
made 12 miles [Spanish] per hour, and up to two o'clock after mid- 
night made go miles, which are 22^ leagues. And because the caravel 
'Pinta' was the swiftest sailer, and was going ahead oi the Adjniral, 
she found land and made the signals which the Admiral had com- 
manded. This land a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana first saw ; 
although the Admiral at 10 o'clock in the night, being on the ' castle ' 
of the poop, saw a light ; albeit it was something so dim that he did 
not wish to affirm it was land, but called to Pedro Gutierrez, cham- 
berlain to the king, and told him that it looked like a light, that he 
[Gutierrez] should mark it ; and thus he [Gutierrez] did and saw it. 
He [Columbus] also called to Rodrigo Sanchez, of Segovia, whom the 
king and queen sent with the fleet as Inspector, who saw nothing, 



APPENDIX. 365 

because he was not in a place where he could see. After the Admiral 
mentioned it, it was seen once or twice, and was like a small wax can- 
dle which was being raised and lowered ; which to few would seem to 
be an indication of land. But the Admiral had been confident that he 
was near land ; for which reason, when they recited the Salve Regina 
(which all sailors are accustomed to say or sing after their fashion 
and gather together for the purpose), the Admiral asked and warned 
them that they should keep a sharp watch in the ' castle ' at the bow, 
and should look well for land ; and that to whomsoever should first call 
out that he saw land, he [the Admiral] would give at once a silk doublet 
in addition to the other bounties which the sovereigns had promised, 
— which were 10,000 maravedies of pension to whomever should first 
see land. At two o'clock after midnight the land appeared, from 
which they were distant two leagues. They shortened all sail, and re- 
mained with the squaresail, which is the mainsail without ' bonnets,' 
and hove to until the morning of Friday, when they arrived at a small 
ishmd [isleta] of the Lucayos, called in the lafigjiage of the Indians 
Guanahani." 

The careful and always candid Navarrete finds this passage 
obscure, contradictory, and misleading. After discussing it and 
comparing it with the testimony of three eyewitnesses (given in 
the lawsuit in 1519), all of whom speak of Juan Bermejo, or 
Juan Rodriguez Bermejo, as having been the one who first 
descried land, he concludes ; — 

"The final result is, . . . that the reward of the 10,000 maravedies 
annually which the sovereigns granted the Admiral during his life 
'because he first, before any other, has discovered the land of the said 
islands ' [decree cited], was one of those favors common in Courts; 
when, after the death of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the influence of the 
Admiral grew and spread, as a sequence to the fortunate outcome of 
an adventure previously regarded with, at least, distrust ; and after- 
ward as the most notable and of the greatest consequences which the 
annals of modern times rehearse." 

No one can accuse Sefior Navarrete of any bias against the 
great navigator ; in this criticism of one of the most romantic 
incidents of a voyage fruitful in all the elements of romantic ad- 
venture he is unquestionably sincere. Nevertheless, we think 
him to be mistaken in laying this charge of petty envy and fraud 
at the Admiral's door, and for the following reasons : — 

First. The whole passage in the diary which records the 
sighting of land is not, as Navarrete twice calls it, " what the 
Admiral says." It is, beyond all peradventure, the summary 
condensed by Las Casas from the original text of Columbus. 
The literal transcription of the Admiral's journal begins on the 
following day, — October 12, — and both then and thereafter is 



366 APPENDIX. 

plainly marked by the use of the first person and the greater 
proHxity and naivete of the writer's account. This we have 
utilized in our narrative. But that the language of the entry 
under Thursday, October ii, is Las Casas's, appears not only 
from the use of the words "he," "they," "the Admiral," but 
also from his description of the island discovered. How could 
Columbus, on the very day of his arrival in the New World, 
know that the island was called Guanahani.? And, far more, 
how could he know that it was one of a group to be christened 
in after years " the Lucayos " .-' 

Secondly. The journal, as it existed forNavarrete and exists 
for us, does not claim that the light seen by Columbus at ten 
o'clock at night — or four hours before land was sighted — was 
on Guanahani itself. Las Casas, in his own delightful History, 
gives us his theory of what the light was, based upon many 
years' life among the Indians of the islands now discovered by 
Columbus. Unhappily the Bishop's solution of the vexed point 
will not bear translation. Suffice it to say that he sees no in- 
herent improbability in the claim of Columbus to have seen a 
light four hours before land showed itself, and even assumes 
that this light was on land. Whether that land was Guanahani 
or another island passed four hours before the latter was sighted, 
must depend on the identification of the "true Guanahani." 
Upon this subject our next note touches. It is enough for our 
present purpose that we make clear the fact that Columbus did 
see a light, and that he instantly published the discovery ; but 
that he does not claim that it was on the same island afterward 
seen by Juan Rodriguez Bermejo from the " Pinta." 

Thirdly. The language of the diary impresses us as being 
straightforward in its relation ; if it is somewhat involved in 
structure, it differs in no wise from the whole literature of the 
period. There does not seem to be any difficulty in reading a 
coherent account of the day's incidents, even in the abbreviated 
version of the Admiral's own words which Las Casas has left. 
All day long the squadron sailed a south-southwest course ; 
unmistakable signs of nearing land were seen from all the ships ; 
Columbus, in virtue of these, held that land was at hand ; and 
at sunset, when the sailors gathered together to intone the Even- 
ing Hymn to the Virgin, he strenuously urged a sharp lookout, 
and promised a personal reward to whomever should first espy 
land, in addition to the sovereigns' promised pension ; the course 
was then changed to west (Las Casas was a priest, not a sailor, 
and his courses may not always be correct); Columbus himself 
took his station in the tall structure built in the stern of his 



APPENDIX. 367 

vessel ; at ten o'clock he saw a light, but " did not wish to affirm 
it was land ; " he called one of the royal officers, who confirmed 
the existence of the light; a second Crown official did not see 
it, owing to his unfavorable position. That he was called for 
the purpose is explicitly stated, and has never been disputed. 
Thus far the record seems clear enough. After showing once 
or twice again the light disappeared. " To few would it appear 
to be a sign of land," says the diary. If the words are Colum- 
bus's own, his frankness should be the strongest proof of the 
correctness of his story. If they are Las Casas's, they are a 
tribute to the Admiral's shrewdness, and not a doubt cast upon 
his veracity ; for Las Casas was a believer in Columbus's ac- 
count of the incident. The fleet swept swiftly on for four hours ; 
at two o'clock A. M., just as the moon broke through the clouds, 
a sailor on the " Pinta," Juan Rodriguez Bermejo by name, saw 
the white sands ahead, and gave the warning signal. The 
Admiral himself recorded this in his diary; and that diary 
was written especially for the perusal of the sovereigns of 
Spain, subject to the confirmation or dissent of Rodrigo San- 
chez, their Majesties' Inspector. Where, then, is there any 
deception, — any attempt to defraud " a poor sailor " of his 
reward 1 

Fourthly. The whole question turns on whether Columbus 
saw a light or not. If he did, we think he was fairly entitled to 
claim to have been the first to sight land, — as much so as though 
he had seen a mountain by day. On a fresh, almost stormy night 
Indians were not likely to be out at sea in their frail craft ; and 
even if by any stress they were, they would not carry lights in 
their boats as modern yachtsmen would. Therefore we believe 
that the light was on shore, that it was visible from Columbus's 
lofty station as the flagship sped on in the darkness, and that 
whoever descried it " first discovered land " in an entirely legiti- 
mate acceptation of the phrase. Such of my readers as have 
approached a strange coast at night after a long cruise in un- 
familiar and shipless waters will at least concur that such a light 
means land. 

Fifthly. The fact that Columbus in his diary calls the "poor 
sailor " Rodrigo de Triana when the other witnesses call him 
Juan Rodriguez, Juan Bermejo, or Juan Rodriguez Bermejo, 
does not seem to be an incoherence. Triana is the name of a 
castle and its village near Seville, — rather famous, in later days, 
as a place of incarcaration for "heretics " awaiting the fiery re- 
lease of the autos da fi. One of the witnesses cited says that 
Bermejo "was a townsman of Molinos, in the Seville district" 



368 APPENDIX. 

{tierra) ; another that he was " of Seville." Rodrigo was con- 
stantly substituted for Rodriguez ; probably the names were 
often indistinguishable in the crabbed writing of the times; and 
the substitution of one suburb of Seville for another is scarcely 
an indication of an intention to mislead. 

Under these circumstances, we think that Columbus should 
stand relieved of the charge of bad faith thus lightly brought 
against him. We have presented the record as it exists, and 
submit that there is no sufficient ground for charging the Ad- 
miral with so unnecessary and clumsy a fraud. 



NOTE J. 

WHERE IS THE "TRUE GUANAHAxf"? 

" It is a matter of controversy which of the Bahama group 
was Guanahani, the first land seen by Columbus," writes, m 
recent days, one of the best informed of Americanists. " The 
main, or rather the only, source for the decision of this question 
is the journal of Columbus; and it is to be regretted that Las 
Casas did not leave unabridged the parts preceding the land- 
fall, as he did those immediately following, down to October 29. 
Not a word outside of this journal is helpful." 

Seven islands dispute the honor of being the "true Guana- 
hani," and each has its able champions. San Salvador, or Cat ; 
Watling's ; Grand Turk; Mariguana; Samand, or Attwood's; 
Acklin's, and Crooked islands have in turn been presented as 
the Gate of the New World. Apart from the testimony of 
ancient charts, the impartiality of which in applying the name 
Guanahani to nearly every one of the islands mentioned robs 
them wholly of reliability, most of the arguments as to the real 
scene of Columbus's landing turn upon careful computations 
of the distances and courses sailed by him after leaving Ferro, 
as laid down day by day in his diary. That these are confusing 
and lead to widely varying conclusions, is evident from the sev- 
eral islands fixed upon by the different investigators as being 
" determined " under this system. For our own part, we have 
eschewed these ingenious calculations as liable to much inevita- 
ble error, — both because, in frequent copying, distances and 
courses alike must have in many instances suffered more than a 
sea-change, and because, from the imperfection of his instru- 
ments, Columbus himself must often have had to depend wholly 
upon his skill as an approximates. We have found, however, 



APPENDIX. 369 

sufficient data in the diary of Columbus and in the pages of his 
friend Las Casas to be not only "helpful" in determining this 
most interesting question, but (under correction be it said) to 
establish beyond a reasonable doubt which was the " true 
Guanahani." 

Much importance is attached by some critics to an alleged 
confusion in the Admiral's own description of San Salvador. 
In some places he calls it, they say, " a small island " (^una isleta) ; 
and elsewhere " quite large " (bien grande). If the Spanish text 
is carefully examined, however, we think it will be found that 
no such confusion exists. On the nth of October, in the 
diary, it is called "a small island of the Lucayos, " but, as be- 
fore remarked, this is plainly Las Casas's interpolation. To 
the good monk, writing thirty years after, on the huge island of 
San Domingo, any one of the Bahamas would be "small." On 
the 13th of October the Admiral's own language is given textu- 
ally ; and here he says "this island is pretty large " {Esta isla 
es bien grande). On the 14th, when rowing along shore, he saw 
a "bit of land which is like an island, but is not one;" and a 
little later on he refers to tJiis peninsula as " the said little 
island " {isleta). This clearly does not refer to the mainland of 
Guanahani. On the i6th he calls Fernandina (the present 
Exuma) "very large," in comparison with Guanahani. On 
November 20, Las Casas, in summarizing the Admiral's entry 
for that date, calls even Isabella (the present Isla Larga) an 
isleta, — a small island, as it surely is in comparison with San 
Domingo, where he was then writing. Thus it seems to us that, 
properly studied, no confusion is apparent in the record touch- 
ing the size of Guanahani. Columbus himself does, indeed, at 
a later date refer to it once as an isleta ; but we must remember 
that he had then explored the endless coasts of Cuba and His 
paniola, and to him t/ien the island first found in the Indies was 
in truth "small." If it had seemed only "pretty large " when 
seen for the first time after weeks of tedious voyaging, how could 
it appear other than small with the images of the vast bulks of 
the giant Antilles still fresh in his memory? 

The only reference to the physical characteristics of Guana- 
hani, beyond those given by the Admiral in describing his visit 
to it which we have incorporated in our narrative, is found in 
his diary under date of Jan. 5, 1493. In speaking of his land- 
ing on the island near Monte Christi, on the northern coast of 
Hispaniola, he says (or Las Casas for him) " he found there 
many tinted stones, or quarry of such stones hewn by nature, 
very beautiful for royal or church edifices, like those which he 

24 



370 APPENDIX. 

found on the isleta of San Salvador." Outside of this the diary 
makes no further mention which would serve in distinguishing 
the true Guanahani from its rivals. 

But Las Casas in his own work settles the question for us 
beyond peradventure. Writing in 1525, or thereabouts, in the 
adjoining island of San Domingo; possessing Columbus's origi- 
nal journal and many of his other writings, his chart, and a num- 
ber of relics ; a participant in numberless conversations with the 
Discoverer himself, — the Friend of the Indians was surely com- 
petent to know which of the neighboring Bahamas was the 
island first trodden by Columbus. That he was personally fa- 
miliar with it is shown by one expression where, in commenting 
upon the landing, the bishop says, " And I am surprised that 
he (the Admiral) does not say that he found salt ; for there are 
in that isleta (that is, Guanahani) very good salt-pits " {salinas). 
This is not in itself conclusive, however, since the same might 
be said of several other islands in the same archipelago. But 
when, in giving his own account of Columbus's discovery. Las 
Casas describes the incidents attending the taking possession, 
he inserts parenthetically this observation of his own ; " This 
land was atid is an island of fifteen leagues in length, a little 
more or less'''' (Esta tierra era y es una isla de 15 leguas de 
luengo, poco mas 6 menos). 

This seems to us to be final, when the circumstances are all 
duly weighed. Las Casas's perfect acquaintance with the facts 
as related by Columbus in conversation and recorded in his 
charts and writings ; his familiarity with the West India 
islands (for the good father had visited most of them in the 
course of his devoted labors in behalf of the natives) ; and the 
fact that, as his own writings testify, he had taken pains to in- 
terrogate all the accessible survivors of Columbus's first voyage 
concerning the events of the discovery, — all add credit to the 
assertion he makes. Moreover, mark the emphatic use of the 
present tense, — "This island was and is'' E^vidently he in- 
tended to establish a point already in some dispute. 

The description given by Las Casas, when taken in connec- 
tion with the many allusions made in the diary to Guanahani, is 
applicable only to Cat Island, or San Salvador, as it is com- 
monly called abroad. Fifteen Spanish leagues, old style, are 
forty-five of our English miles. Watling's Island is thirteen 
miles long; Grand Turk, less than six; Mariguana, twenty- 
three and a half; Attwood's Cay, nine; Crooked Island, 
twenty. 

San Salvador, or Cat Island, and Acklin's alone have the 



APPENDIX. I'Jl 

requisite length ; for accurate surveys make them each about 
forty-three miles long. The controversy should thus seem to be 
narrowed down to these two claimants. But Cat Island is the 
only one which possesses the other requisites for an identifica- 
tion with Guanahani, — such as its distance from other islands 
mentioned, its position with reference to them, etc. ; while Ack- 
lin's Island does not fulfil any of these requirements. 

Even considered by itself, we find this explicit declaration of 
Las Casas to be conclusive. Taken in connection with the ad- 
mirable arguments of Mackenzie and Humboldt, and the per- 
sistency with which from the earliest times Cat Island has held 
the title of San Salvador, we see no possibility of disputing, in 
justice, its claim to be the " true Guanahani," — the first of the 
Golden Indies visited by the great Genoese and his companions 
of the immortal Discovery. 

Another instance of the interest taken by Las Casas in 
establishing a correct knowledge of San Salvador is given in 
the pains which he takes to give the true pronunciation of the 
Indian name. It should be called Guanahani, he insists, "with 
the accent on the last syllable," and not Guanahani. 




MONK AND KNIGHT. 

^n l^fstorical Stittig in iFictictn. 
By the Rev. Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus. 

Two Vols. i2mo, 707 pages. Price, $2 50. 



This work is one that challenges attention for its ambitious 
character and its high aim. It is an historical novel, — or, rather, 
as the author prefers to call it, " An Historical Study in Fiction." 
It is the result of long and careful study of the period of which it 
treats, and hence is the product of genuine sympathies and a 
freshly-fired imagination. The field is Europe, and the period is 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, — a time when the fading 
glow of the later Renaissance is giving place to the brighter glories 
of the dawning Reformation. 

The book deals, in a broad sense, with the grand theme of the 
progress of intellectual liberty. Many of its characters are well- 
known historical personages, — such as Erasmus, Sir Thomas 
More, Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII. of England, Francis I. of 
France, the disturbing monk Martin Luther, and the magnificent 
Pope Leo X.; other characters are of course fictitious, introduced 
to give proper play to the author's fancy and to form a suitable 
framework for the story. 

Interwoven with the more solid fabric are gleaming threads of 
romance-, and bright bits of description and glows of sentiment 
relieve the more sombre coloring. The memorable meeting of the 
French and English monarchs on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, 
with its gorgeous pageantry of knights and steeds and silken ban- 
ners, and all the glitter and charm of chivalry, furnish material for 
several chapters, in which the author's descriptive powers are put 
to the severest test ; while the Waldensian heroes in their mountain 
homes, resisting the persecutions of their religious foes, afford 
some thrilling and dramatic situations. 



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SAVONAROLA, 

HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 

By William Clark, M.A., LL.D. 

i2ino, gilt top, 358 pages, $1.50. 
Half calf or half morocco, $350. 



Professor Clark writes in popular style, thoroughly explains 
the intricate political system of Florence in its transition state, and 
succeeds in giving a well-rounded history of a man whose character 
will always be one of the most interesting in history to study. 

The whole story is compactly and simply told in this volume, 
and in such a fascinating and charming way as to delight the reader. 
As a contribution to a proper estimate of a life that presents so 
many difficulties to the historian, this study of Professor Clark's is 
especially valuable. — Living Church, Chicago. 

This is one of the best pieces of biographical work that have 
fallen under our eye during the present year. The author e.xhibits 
a thorough acquaintance with the history of the age in which the 
great Italian reformer's life was spent. All the information con- 
tained in the pages of the most trustworthy authorities has been 
critically examined, sifted, and condensed into this work. It is a 
pleasure to commend work which has been so excellently done. . . . 
The book is written in terse, forceful, and perfectly lucid English ; 
the style of the author is strikingly vivid; and the reader obtains 
from the volume a very satisfactory conception of Savonarola's 
aims, deeds, and influence. — Public Opinion, Washington. 

The book is a very careful study, kept candid and fair as far as 
it is possible for an enthu'^iastic admirer to be so. It is frank and 
full also in reference to authorities. — Times, Chicago. 

The volume covers just about as much ground as the general 
reader is likely to want, and is the best popular book yet produced 
concerning one of the most interesting figures of the last half of the 
fifteenth century. — Epoch, Ncxv York. 



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EDUCATION and THE HIGHER LIFE. 

By the Rt. Rev. J. L. Spalding, 

BISHOP OF PEORIA. 

i2mo, 210 pages. Price, $i.cx>. 



Reading these essays, one feels urged to purer thinking and 
nobler doing. They incite to excellence of mind and to excellence 
of soul. To one who feels pessimistic, narrow-minded, narrow- 
souled, they come with joyous, faith-carrying words, which point 
and lead to those higher truths of mind and soul which are free 
from dogma of sect and creed, and which all lovers of the human 
intellect and the divine intelligence delight to study. — Public 
Opin ion , W^ash ington . 

These essays are characterized by an elevation of thought, an 
earnestness of purpose, which are well adapted to stir the soul to 
nobler impulses and fuller consecration in the service of God and 
man. . . . To all who are seeking mental and moral elevation, this 
book will give many helpful hints. — Methodist Magazine, Toronto. 

This is not a large work, but it is a practical and valuable one. 
It is full of nuggets of golden counsel. It is impossible to read 
the book without feeling that Bishop Spalding understands the true 
nature of education, which is not simply to stuff the mind, but to 
train it. We wish that the book might be read by the intelligent 
youth of our land. It would tend to enligiiten their minds as to 
the best aims and purposes of life. — The Observer, Nexv York. 

The aspiring young men and women of the country will find in 
these pages an earnest call to the higher life, — a summons to fix 
their attention on pure and lofty ideals of character, and ever ad- 
vance toward them with firm and courageous steps. — Unity, 
Chicago. 

The Bishop of Peoria enjoys more than a local fame as a 
learned and eloquent man. There are many things wisely and well 
said in this collection of essays. — Living Church, Chicago. 

It is a plea for culture as a means toward attaining the higher 
life, and is a good word well spoken. — The Inquirer, Phila- 
delphia. 

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THE LAUREL-CROWNED LETTERS. 



The Best Letters of Lord Chesterfield. Edited, with an 

Introduction, by Edward Gilpin Johnson. 
The Best Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Edited, 

with an Introduction, by Octave Thanei'. 
The Best Letters of Horace Walpole. Edited, with an 

Introduction, by Anna B. McMahan. 
The Best Letters of Madame de Sevigne. Edited, with 

an Introduction, by Edward Playfatr Anderson. 
Each volume is finely printed and bound ; i6mo, 

cloth, gilt tops, price, $i.oo. 

In half calf or half morocco, per vol., $2.73. 



Of Lord Chesterfield's Letters, the Atlantic 
Monthly says : — 

The editor seems to make good his claims to have treated these 
letters with such discrimination as to render the book really ser- 
viceable, not only as a piece of literatuie, but as a text-book in 
politeness. 

Of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's Letters, the 
New York Star says : — 

The selection is indeed an excellent one. and the notes by the 
present editor considerably enhance their value. 

Of Horace Walpole's Letters, the Philadelphia Public 
Ledger says : — 

These witty and entertaining letters show Walpole to bear out 
the promise of his fame, — the prince of letter-writers in an age 
which elevated the occupation into a fine art. "^ 

Of Madame de SjSvign^'s Letters, the Boston Satur- 
day Gazette says: — 

Accomplished, witty, pure, Madame de Sevigne's noble char- 
acter is reflected in her writings, which will always hold a foremost 
place in the estimation of those who can appreciate high moral and 
intellectual qualities. 

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LAUREL-CROWNED TALES. 

Abdallah ; OR, The Four-Leaved Shamrock. By Ed- 
OUARD Laboulaye. Translated by Mary L. Booth. 

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. By Samuel Johnson. 

Raphael; or, Pages of the Book of Life at Twenty. 
From the French of Alphonse de Lamartine. 

The Vicar of Wakefield. By Oliver Goldsmith. 

The Epicurean. By Thomas Moore. 

PicciOLA. By X. B. .Saintine. 

Other volumes in preparation. 

Handsomely printed from new plates, on fine laid pap;r, i2mo, 
cloth, with gilt tops, price per volume, ^i.oo. 

In half calf or half morocco, $2.75. 



In planning this series, the publishers have aimed at a form 
which should combine an unpretentious elegance suited to the fas- 
tidious book-lover with an inexpensiveness that must appeal to the 
most moderate buyer. 

It is the intent to admit to the series only such tales as have 
for years or for generations commended themselves not only to 
the fastidious and the critical, but also to the great multitude of 
the refined reading public, — tales, in short, which combine purity 
and classical beauty of style with perennial popularity. 



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THE GREAT FRENCH WRITERS. 

A Series of Studies of the Lives, Works, and Influettce 

of the Great Writers of the Past, by Great Writers 

of the Present. Comprising — 

Madame de SjSvign^. By Gaston Boissier. 
George Sand. By E. Caro. 

Montesquieu. By Albert Sorel. 

Victor Cousin. By Jules Simon. 
Turcot. By Leon Say. 

Thiers. By Paul de Remusat. 

With other volumes in preparation. Translated by Prof. Mel- 
ville B. Anderson and Prof. Edward Playfair Ander- 
son. i2mo. Price, $1.00 per volume. 

In half morocco, gilt top, $2.50. 



No writers of the century have exerted more influence upon English 
and American thought than the writers of France, whether in fiction, 
in criticism, or in metaphysics. ... It was fortunate for Americans 
especially that the scheme was conceived of having eminent French 
wruers of this generation prepare monographs upon the great writers 
of past generations whose books are still the living thought not only of 
their own country but of the age ; and the translation of these rnono- 
graphs and their republication in this country is a literary event of con- 
siderable importance. — Tribune, Chicago. 

When the reader has finished either of these volumes, he must cer- 
tainly lay it down with the feeling that he has been admitted into the 
intimate life of the great writer in whose charming company he has 
been spending a few delightful hours, and that his knowledge of the 
author's position in literature, and of his influence in the world, is sur- 
prisingly enlarged and broadened. — Nation, Nnu York. 

These French monographs have a power of compression and light- 
ness of touch which may well appear marvellous to American readers 
not acquainted with the Gallic genius for biographical and critical 
essays. — Beacon, Boston. 



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UPTON'S HANDBOOKS ON MUSIC. 

Comprising The Standard Operas, The Standard Oratorios, 
The Standard Cantatas, The Standard Symphonies. 

By George P. Upton, izmo, flexible cloth, extra, per volume, 
J51.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00. 

The same in neat box, per set, cloth $6.00 

extra gilt 8.00 

half calf, gilt tops, 13.00 
half moro., gilt tops 14.00 
half moro., gilt edges 15.00 
tree calf, gilt edges 22.00 

Of the Standard Operas, R. H. Stoddard, in " Evening Mail 
and Express" (New York) says: 
"Among the multitude of handbooks described by easy-going writers 
of book-notices as supplying a long-felt want, we know of none which so 
completely carries out the intention of the writer as 'The Standard 
Operas,' by Mr. George P. Upton, whose object is to present to his 
readers a comprehensive sketch of each of the operas contained in the 
modern repertory. . . . There are thoi sands of music-loving people 
who will be glad to have the kind of knowledge which Mr. Upton has 
collected for their benefit, and has cast in a clear and compact form." 

Of the Standard Oratorios, the "Nation" (New York) says: 

" Music-lovers are under a new obligation to Mr. Upton for this 
companion to his "Standard Operas," — two books which deserve to 
be placed on the same shelf with Grove's and Riemann's musical 
dictionaries." 

Of the Standard Cantatas, the " Boston Post" says: 

" Mr. Upton has done a genuine service to the cause of music and to 
all music-lovers in the preparation of this work, and that service is none 
the less important in that while wholly unassuming and untechnical, 
it is comprehensive, scholarly, and thorough." 

Of the Standard Symphonies, the "Home Journal" (New 
York) says: 

" None who have seen the previous books of Mr. Upton will need 
assurance that this is as indispensable as the others to one who would 
listen intelligently to that better class of music which musicians con- 
gratulate themselves Americans are learning to appreciatively enjoy.'' 



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THE BEVERLEYS. 

A Story of Calcutta. 

BY MARY ABBOTT, 

Author of "Alexia," etc. 

i2mo, 264 pages. Price, $1.25. 



The uncommonly favorable reception of Mrs. Abbott's brilliant 
novelette, " Alexia," by the public bespeaks in advance a lively 
interest in her new novel, " The Beverleys." It is a more e.xtended 
and ambitious work than the former, but has the same grace of style 
and liveliness of treatment, together with a much more considerable 
plot and more subtle delineations of character and life. The action 
of the story takes place in India, and reveals on the part of the 
authoress the most intimate knowledge of the official life of the 
large and aristocratic English colony in Calcutta. The local color- 
ing is strong and unusual. 

A more joyous story cannot be imagined. ... A harum-scarum 
good-nature; a frank pursuit of cakes and ale; a heedless, happy- 
go-lucky spirit, are admirable components in a novel, however trying 
they may be found in the walks of daily life. Such are the pleas- 
ures of " The Beverleys." To read it is recreation, indeed. — 
Public Ledger, Philadelphia. 

The author writes throughout with good taste, and with a quick 
eye for the picturesque. — Herald, New York. 

It is a pretty story, charmingly written, with cleverly sketched 
pictures of various types of character . . . The book abounds in 
keen, incisive philosophy, wrapped up in characteristic remarks. — 
Times, Chicago. 

An absorbing story. It is brilliantly and vivaciously written. — 
Literary World, Boston. 

The author has until now been known, so far as we are aware, 
only by her former story, " Alexia." Unless signs fail which sel- 
dom do fail, these two with which her name is now associated are 
simply the forerunners of works in a like vein of which American 
i'.terature will have reason to be proud. — Standard, Chicago. 



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MARTHA COREY. 

A TALE OF THE SALEM W/7CHC/tAFT. 

By Constance Goddard du Bois. 

iztno, 314 pages. Price, $1.25. 



The same material drawn upon by Longfellow for his " New 
England Tragedies" is here used with greater fulness and with no 
less historical exactitude. The story has for its background the 
dark and gloomy pictures of the witchcraft persecution, of which it 
furnishes a thrilling view. It is remarkable for bold imagination, 
wonderfully rapid action, and continued and absorbing interest. 

In short, it is too, good a piece of fiction to be accepted as 
truth, which is to the credit of the author's imaginative powers; 
for " Martha Corey " is an absorbing tale. — Public Ledger, 
Philadelphia. 

The story is curious and quaint, differing totally from the 
novels of this day ; and the pictures of life among the early in- 
habitants of Massachusetts show that the author has been an 
untiring and faithful student for her work. — Weekly Item, Phila- 
delphia. 

The characters are well delineated ; the language is smooth and 
refined ; and from frequent change of scene and character the book 
is rendered very entertaining. The passions, love and hate, are 
carefully analyzed and faithfully described. It is a valuable little 
book. — Globe, Chicago. 

An interesting tale of love and intrigue. . . . Miss Du Bois 
has given us a very readable book, and has succeeded where others 
have failed. — Advertiser, Boston. 

The story of this book is pleasantly told ; and as a picture of 
those sad times, when some of the worst and the best, of the dark- 
est and the brightest, of the most hateful and the most lovable 
traits of human nature were openly manifested, is well worth 
reading. — Illustrated Christian Weekly, New York. 

A story of marked strength, both of imagination and narration. 
— Home Journal, New York. 



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THE BRIDGE OF THE GODS. 

A ROMANCE OF INDIAN OREGON. 

By F. H. Balch. 

i2ino, 280 pages. Price, $1.23. 

This is a masterly and original delineation of Indian life. It 
is a strong story, charged with the elemental forces of the human 
heart. The author portrays with unusual power the intense, stern 
piety of the ministers of colonial New England, and the strange 
mingling of dignity, superstition, ferocity, and stoicism that char- 
acterized the early Indian warriors. 

There is no need of romancing, and Mr. Balch's scenic descrip- 
tions are for all practical purposes real descriptions. The legends 
he relates of the great bridge which once spanned the Columbia, 
for which there is some substantial history, adds to the mystical 
charms of the story. His Indian characters are as real as if photo- 
graphed from life. No writer has presented a finer character than 
the great chief of the Willamettes, Multnomah ; Snoqualmie the 
Cayuse; or Tohomish the Seer. The night visit of Multnomah to 
the tomb of his dead wife upon that lonely island in the Willam- 
ette is a picture that will forever live in the reader's memory. . . . 
To those who have traversed the ground, and know something of 
Indian character and the wild, free life of pioneer days, the story 
will be charming — hiter-Ocean, Chicago. 

It is a truthful and realistic picture of the powerful Indian tribes 
that inhabited the Oregon country two centuries ago. ... It is a 
book that will be of value as a historical authority ; and as a story 
of interest and charm, there are few novels that can rival it. — 
Traveller, Boston. 

There is much and deep insight in this book. The characters 
stand in clear outline, and are original. The movement of the 
story is quick and varied, like the running water of the great river. 
— The Pacific, San Francisco. 

Its field is new for fiction ; it is obviously the work of one who 
has bestowed a great deal of study on the subjects he would illus- 
trate. It is very interesting reading, fluently written. — Times, 
Chicago. 

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THE STORY OF TONTY. 

AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE. 

By Mrs. Mary Hartwell Catherwood. 
i2mo, 224 pages. Price, $1.25. 



" The Story of Tonty " is eminently a Western story, beginning 
at Montreal, tarrying at Fort Frontenac, and ending at the old fort 
at Starved Rock, on the Illinois River. It weaves the adventures 
of the two great explorers, the intrepid La Salle and his faithful 
lieutenant, Tonty, into a tale as thrilling arid romantic as the de- 
scriptive portions are brilliant and vivid. It is superbly illustrated 
with twenty-three masterly drawings by Mr. Enoch Ward. 

Such tales as this render service past expression to the cause of his- 
tory. They weave a spell in which old chronicles are vivified and breathe 
out human life Mrs. Catherwood, in thus bringing out from the treasure- 
houses of half- forgotten historical record things new and old, has set her- 
self one of the worthiest literary tasks of her generation, and is showing 
herself finely adequate to its fulfilment. — Tra^iscript, Boston. 

A powerful story by a writer newly sprung to fame. . . . All the 
century we have been waiting for the deft hand that could put flesh upon 
the dry bones of our early heroes. Here is a recreation indeed. . . . One 
comes from the reading of the romance with a quickened interest in our 
early national history, and a profound admiration for the art that can so 
transport us to the dreamful realms where fancy is monarch of fact. — 
Press, Philadelphia. 

"The Story of Tonty" is full of the atmosphere of its time.' It 
betrays an intimate and sympathetic knowledge of the great age of ex- 
plorers, and it is altogether a charming piece of work. — Christian 
Union, New York. 

Original in treatment, in subject, and in all the details of mise en 
scene, it must stand unique among recent romances. — News, Chicago. 



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d 



FACT, FANCY, AND FABLE. 

A New Handbook for Ready Reference on Sub- 
jects Commonly Omitted from Cyclopaedias 
Compiled by Henry Frederic Reddall. Large 
8vo, 536 pages. Half leather, $3 50. 

In half morocco, gilt top, $6.50. 



The motto, " Trifles make the sum of human things," could 
have no better illustration than this noble collection furnishes. 
It comprises personal sobriquets, familiar phrases, popular appel- 
lations, geographical nicknames, literary pseudonyms, mythological 
characters, red-letter days, political slang, contractions and abbre- 
viations, technical terms, foreign words and phrases, American- 
isms, etc. The work is compiled after a distinct plan, and with 
keen discrimination in regard to what is admitted and what ex- 
cluded. — Journal of Education^ Boston. 

It is original in conception, and thorough in execution. It 
brings together, alphabetically, a surprising number of titles from 
near and remote sources, that are very necessary in reference when 
they are not indispensable to the general reader. ... It supple- 
ments and enlarges the usefulness of every dictionary and all the 
handbooks the dictionary has suggested. — Globe, Boston. 

It must take its place for the time being as the best work of its 
kind in e.xistence, particularly as regards American topics. — Sun, 
New York. 

There is much matter in the volume that has never before been 
collated. . . . Writers and readers alike will find this work ser- 
viceable and trustworthy. — Press, Philadelphia. 

The book is one of the best compilations of its kind. — Critic, 
New York. 



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